Boomerang
by fnmom68
Summary: After wanting him for so long, Bella is stunned to find out that her love for Edward is requited. However, he has a girlfriend and is leaving for college. What happens when, over time, Bella has moved on, and Edward returns? AH, BxE, Ax
1. Chapter 1 Life In Forks

_This is a semi-autobiographical piece, however I claim no ownership to the characters created by the wonderfully talented Stephenie Meyer or, sadly, to Edward. Except the Edward barbie doll that sits on my bureau and watches me sleep at night. ;)_

**Chapter 1**

Being a sophomore in high school in Forks, Washington definitely had its disadvantages. My parents were well known since my father, Charlie Swan, was the Chief of Police. My mother, Renee, worked at the town library and also ran the local annual arts and crafts festival. My great-great grandparents moved here just a year or two after dirt was invented, like many other families that lived in this small town. Everyone knew who the "townies" were, and my best friend, Alice, was subject to that stigma just like I was.

Alice Hale lived a block away from me. We had been best friends ever since fourth grade, when we fought over a swing on the playground. Alice's father owned the town's only grocery and supply store, and her mom managed the business with him. Our parents were friendly, and had gone to school together 'back in the day.' Alice and I were inseparable, outside of school. We were always our true selves with each other, and our friendship had an amazing 'no judgment' policy, and it seemed like no matter what either of us was going through, or did, we were there for each other. We knew that we were both welcome in each other's homes at any time, any hour, and for any reason. Since my Dad spent so much time at work (even though Forks did not have a huge crime rate), I felt like Alice's Dad had adopted me in some respects. That could also have been because I knew if I screwed up badly enough he would tell my Mom, and then there would be hell to pay.

We were both 15, and met almost daily at our usual place near the ball field in between our houses. We had done this for years, but both looked forward to getting our licenses next year. It was frustrating being forced to depend on our parents, or Alice's brother Emmett, to go anywhere outside of Forks. On the Friday before Thanksgiving week, the big topic of conversation at school had been the new family who was moving into town over the weekend. Their last name was Cullen, and they were moving here because Mrs. Cullen, a successful real estate broker, preferred small towns. Dr. Cullen was a neurologist who ran one of the departments at the Port Angeles Hospital, and they had a son that was a couple of years older than Alice and I. Everybody in town pretty much knew their business before they even arrived. Like I said – small town disadvantages. Normally, when a new student started school, I ignored them. I didn't do it to be mean, and I certainly didn't think I was better than anyone, but there always seemed to be a competition between the various cliques to claim a new student as one of their own. As if they were increasing their power by numbers, or something like that. It was like watching a group of kindergarteners all converging on a soccer ball, and I just didn't want any part of it.

The weather was still decent for this time of year, and the endless trees kept what wind there was to a minimum. But even as I sat on the rock with Alice and enjoyed the crisp air and the smell of winter and promised snow, I wondered why anyone moving to a new location would choose Forks.

"I heard the Cullens lived in Port Angeles for a really long time," I said to Alice. "I feel bad for their son having to move here. I'm sure there's a lot more to do in Port Angeles."

"Hmm... yeah, I guess so," Alice's replied. "Their son is older than us, anyway. I think he's a senior, so he can probably drive back there whenever he wants."

I nodded at her, supposing she was right. I had better things to worry about anyway. Alice was already forming plans for the weekend.

"Listen, how about we go see 'Deception at Midnight' tomorrow? I'll ask my Dad or Emmett to drive us if your Mom can pick us up."

"Isn't that an R movie?" I asked. I remember hearing about that one, and it sounded pretty good. But I wasn't in the mood to have my non-existent ID checked.

"Bella, you've got to work on your lying abilities. That last time we went to an R rated movie and you told the woman that you were a mature 15-and-a-half years old, I wanted to smack you."

"Yeah, I still don't know why she let me in. That was kind of stupid." I shook my head as I remembered that day well; lying was not a talent of mine. The movie was good, though.

Alice looked at her watch. "I have to get going. My Dad is working late tonight and I have to feed Emmett. I'm making lasagna, want to come over?"

Emmett was Alice's older brother, and we got along fine. But I had already made a commitment I couldn't get out of.

"No thanks, Al. Nothing against your cooking, but I promised my mother that I'd help her around the house tonight, and I don't want to be stuck inside cleaning over the weekend. Besides, it will give me leverage to ask for a ride home from the movies tomorrow night as payment."

"Okay. Just give me a call in the morning so we can figure out what time. And practice in the mirror by looking at yourself and saying 'I'm seventeen.'"

"Okay, I will. See ya." I waved as I jumped off of the rock we were sitting on, and made my way through the neighbors' back yard to get to my own.

I spent the next two hours cleaning various parts of the house that my mother deemed worthy of a good dusting and vacuuming. Once that was done, I decided to hang out in my room and read, since it was too late to head to the gym. After about half an hour I was sound asleep, face down in the middle of Dean Koontz's latest thriller. The rest of the weekend was busy, and went pretty much as planned. Alice and I successfully got into the movie we wanted to see, we hit the gym a couple of times, and on Sunday we even managed to get a ride to the mall. Tomorrow we would be back in school, and our mundane routine would start all over again.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The fact that the school administration felt that P.E. was an acceptable class to hold first thing in the morning didn't bother me so much. However, it was the one class I dreaded because it forced me to put my lack of coordination on display for everyone to see. I wished my gym membership qualified towards credit for the course, but I knew there was no hope there. It wasn't considered a 'team building' experience. As I walked towards the locker rooms, curious about which type of torture I would endure today, I noticed a tall, bronze-haired boy walking out of the wood shop with some other students.

_He must be the new Cullen boy_, I thought to myself.

I had forgotten all about the Cullens moving into town this past weekend. But, since the entire Forks Junior-Senior High School consisted of only 732 students, it was obvious when an outsider showed up. Alice was right - the Cullen boy (Edward, I think?) was a senior, so I wouldn't have any reason to speak to him, but for some reason I found myself staring at him. I felt a strange mixture of fear and fascination when I saw him, as though I were being tempted by some forbidden fruit. I had to actually force my eyes away, which wasn't like me at all.

When I looked up again, I couldn't see anything unusual about him that should have caused this reaction in me. I didn't have enough experience with boys to know whether someone was my 'type' or not, but it didn't feel like physical attraction was the issue here. I shook it off and continued on to P.E. class, where I made a conscious effort to restrict my injuries to myself, and spare as many of my classmates as possible.

The only remarkable thing about the rest of school that week was that every time I saw Edward Cullen, I would find my eyes drawn to his face, particularly his green eyes. They were almost hypnotic in a way, and I realized I was searching the halls for them when I was between classes. The next week continued with much of the same. I could not help but feel some unexplainable connection between myself and this person that I had never met. It was more than a little unnerving, the way he had this subconscious control over me. _I must be losing it,_ I thought. _He has no idea I even exist, and yet I'm watching for him every chance I get? _Seriously, I needed to just ignore him and mind my own business.

I didn't tell Alice about this, although part of me found it very difficult to keep it from her. It was ridiculous, and I couldn't explain it, so why bother? She'd probably figure I was stressing out from being cooped up in a small town, and insist on what she liked to refer to as 'retail therapy.' No, my shopaholic-pixie-BFF did not need to know about this.

There were a few instances when he caught me looking at him in the hallway. I immediately felt intimidated and looked away, trying to pretend as if my eyes hadn't been burning a hole in his head. One time, though, I thought I saw the hint of a smile on his lips before I averted my gaze, blushing furiously. I couldn't help but overhear that Edward was the main focus of talk among the other girls in school. Again, it could have been a lack of options, but he was being considered as one of the hottest young guys in Forks. _Maybe he __was__ my type?_ I wondered. No, I decided, he was starting to irritate me, actually. I found myself getting mad whenever I saw him. Angry at him for being here, for making me notice him so much, for turning me into some psychopath. _What was wrong with me??_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

My mother put on the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our family, including our relatives from Seattle who only visited on special occasions. It was nice to have a long weekend away from school, and away from certain 'distractions' that were starting to make me crazy. But after a couple of weeks went by, my stalking tendencies continued no matter how hard I tried to diffuse them. Alice and I were planning our next concert excursion to see Kings of Leon. We were looking forward to it, and even more so because Emmett was going, too, and would let us ride with him instead of us being chauffeured by one of our parents.

Over time, and not without a Herculean effort, I had managed to avoid staring at you-know-who as much as I had done that first couple of weeks. It was a relief to find that I could ignore his presence when I tried, but the necessity of my efforts was starting to make me feel like I was in my own twelve-step program. Then one Monday, over a month after the object of my psychosis moved to town, I was sure I had finally stepped into the Twilight Zone.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays after school I went to the police station in town to work for my Dad. It was just for a few hours, and mostly consisted of a little data entry, keeping files in order, and making sure that coffee was made. Sometimes it would get really exciting if I had to sit at the dispatcher's desk and cover for her when she went to the ladies' room. I finished my last class for the day, Biology, and walked to work in my snow boots and heavy coat. It was lightly snowing, and Charlie had texted me to see if I needed a ride, but I enjoyed the time alone to clear my head as long as it wasn't bitter cold or icy on the sidewalks. Charlie said there were a bunch of files that needed to be put away because of some investigation they were working on with the police force in Mason County. So, I could look forward to a busy afternoon.

I put my backpack down under my desk - well, table and chair might have been more accurate, and started attacking the pile of papers that the detectives from Mason had left everywhere. Charlie's car was in the parking lot, but after being there for a half hour, I still hadn't seen him. I finally heard Charlie's voice coming down the hall, and it sounded like he was giving someone a tour of the building. I guessed that one of the detectives must still be around, and wondered if they had needed to call in a second shift or something. But when I listened closely, I could hear Charlie explaining the mechanics of how the doors worked and where the cleaning supplies were kept. Why in the world would a detective need to know that?

"Thanks, Chief Swan. I appreciate the opportunity. I'll get right to work on the cruisers." I heard a soft velvet voice speaking to my father in a professional manner. Charlie responded as he normally did when someone expressed gratitude.

"Uh, sure, no problem." And with that, the conversation ended and Charlie emerged from the hallway.

"Hey, Bells. How was school?" he greeted me as he walked past me towards his office.

"Hi, Dad. Um, good, thanks," I said, keeping my eyes on the hallway where I had heard their voices. Since I knew everyone that worked here already, the curiosity I felt from hearing a strange voice was overwhelming. It probably made sense to find out who he was, so that I didn't blind him with pepper spray if I ran into him by accident or something. I walked down the hallway lined with closets that held the maintenance supplies and extra uniforms, coats, and safety gear. At the end of it was the entrance to the garage that held Forks' four cruisers, plus a bay for the spare ambulance. When I reached the door I peeked through the inset window, and immediately my head began to spin.

My mouth hung open in shock as I watched Edward Cullen, dressed in off-white coveralls, getting ready to wash one of the cruisers. _Wait a minute_, I thought. _What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This can't be real. This is one of the few places where I didn't have to consciously avoid him. Hadn't I successfully been ignoring him, and now this? I may need to rethink that pepper spray. _I couldn't breathe, and my heart was pounding. I did the first thing that came to my mind, and quickly turned and headed straight into Charlie's office.

"Dad!" I practically yelled. Charlie jumped a bit in his seat and looked up at me with an alarmed expression.

"Bella, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Why is _he_ here, Dad?" I demanded, ignoring his questions. His alarm quickly changed to confusion then.

"Who?" he asked, looking over my shoulder to the reception area.

"Edward Cullen. What is he doing here?" This only generated more confused looks from Charlie as he sat back in his chair, gauging my expression.

"He works here, Bella. I hired him for some general maintenance and to keep the cruisers clean. Today is his first day. Why, what's the problem? Did he say something to you?" Charlie was always the protective father when it came to boys.

"No, we haven't spoken. I can't believe you hired him, of all people," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. I was acting like a complete lunatic, and I knew it. But I just couldn't stop myself.

"Bells, he just moved here, and he has a good recommendation from the police chief over in Port Angeles where he did the same kind of work. You want to explain where this behavior is coming from?" He had one eyebrow raised, obviously curious about my sudden hostility.

"Not really." I folded my arms, feeling defeated. Obviously, I couldn't tell Charlie about my deranged obsession with Edward Cullen, but I had to say something to get rid of his worried look. I ran my hands over my face to calm myself and return to reality.

"Sorry, Dad. I'm fine, really. It's just, you know, I feel weird around strangers. It will be fine. I was just caught by surprise. I'm sure he'll do fine, so don't worry, really." Geez, how many times was I going to say 'fine?' I tried to smile reassuringly, but I was still so flustered it felt more like a grimace.

"Um...okay, Bella. Look, do you want me to call your Mom or something? Maybe you two could use a girls' day out." Now he had that look on his face when he figured that I was....

_Oh great! Now he thinks I've got PMS or something_.

"No, Dad. I need to get those files done. Let me know whenever you're ready to leave." And with that I managed a more sincere-looking smile, and turned to leave.

"Uh-huh. Alright." I could feel him watch me walk back over to my table, so I quickly busied myself with shuffling papers, sorting them by case number and date. But I couldn't help but be _very_ aware that Edward Cullen was down the hall, and I found myself pushing away the urge to return to that window.

Please, please review - it's the best thing in the world to hear from readers! Good or bad - let me know what you think. :)


	2. Chapter 2 An Introduction

**Chapter 2**

I was grateful that the next day was Tuesday. Even though I would have to endure seeing Edward at school, at least I didn't have to worry about trying to avoid him at work. _This is absurd_, I kept thinking.

I met up with Alice after my last class, and we walked around town a little to enjoy the rare nice weather that Forks was having. I had already told Renee that I would be eating dinner at Alice's so that we could work on homework together.

"Alice, can I tell you something, and will you promise you won't have me committed?" I asked. I couldn't hold it in any longer; I had to tell someone about what was going on with me. Just in case I really was crazy.

"Hmmm…well, I suppose so, Bella. I mean, you can certainly tell me anything, you know that. And since you haven't recommended me for the loony bin yet, I guess I could extend the same courtesy to you."

"Gee, thanks, Alice." I rolled my eyes at her.

"So what's up?" After that lead in, I certainly had her curiosity piqued.

"Well," I started, not knowing how I was going to explain this properly. "Have you seen Edward Cullen at school?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"I keep seeing him in the hallways, and I can't seem to keep myself from staring at him. I mean I literally have to make an effort NOT to look at him. It's starting to freak me out a little."

"Really? Well, he is cute, so I can't blame you there. So, what's the big deal? I'm sure lots of the girls in Forks are thrilled to have something new and shiny to stare at." She looked at me curiously then, obviously not understanding my request for avoiding any psychiatric evaluations.

"Well, I've managed to keep it somewhat under control at school, but then Charlie went and hired him to work part time at the police station, and I'll have to see him there, too," I said, hoping not to sound like some kind of idiot.

"Okay, so you're concerned because you have to keep seeing a cute guy? Sorry, I'm not seeing the issue here yet," Alice said, shaking her head.

"Alice, I don't get it. I've never been like this before, and it's bugging me. Why him? Why am I reacting this way?"

"Do you like him?" she asked, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, of course not! That's ridiculous." That response was even a little too quick of an answer to convince me, though.

"I mean, I don't even know him, Al. But what's making me crazy is that I can't explain any of it. It doesn't matter, anyway. Just forget I brought it up."

Alice gave me one of those all-knowing looks, with a smug smile.

"Uh-huh. Okay, my friend. I think you have a little crush going on here. And I don't think forgetting that you brought it up is in the cards for either of us." She was giggling now, which I thought was a little strange.

"What's going on, Alice?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing bad, Bella, I promise. You'll see."

"Then why am I suddenly scared?" And for some reason I was as we started heading back to Alice's house so that we wouldn't be late for dinner

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Hales lived in a nice yellow Victorian house near the town center that their family had owned since they moved to Forks a couple of generations ago. We walked up the driveway and into the house through the side door, then into the brightly decorated kitchen. Dinner wasn't quite ready yet, so we headed for Alice's room on the second floor. We took three steps down the hallway, and that's where I froze.

I was in front of Emmett's room, the door was open, and some music was playing that I didn't recognize. What I did recognize, however, were the three people sitting around Emmett's room; Emmett, his best friend Jasper, and Edward Cullen. All three of them looked up when they noticed Alice and me standing in front of the door, and Emmett smiled and nodded his head at us.

"Hey Bells, what's up?" he asked me.

"Hey, Alice," Jasper added.

Edward smiled, looking at both of us.

"Hello," he said.

I couldn't speak. I mean, I did try, but no sound would leave my mouth. Alice picked up on my helplessness, and thankfully came to my rescue.

"Bella, you know Emmett's friend, Jasper, and this is Edward." She pointed to him as though our earlier conversation about him hadn't taken place. "Edward just moved here from Port Angeles," she continued, allowing me enough time to somewhat compose myself.

"Um, hi," I managed to squeak out, and gave a general wave to all of them. Then the unthinkable happened – he spoke directly to me.

"You're Chief Swan's daughter, aren't you? I think I saw you at the police station yesterday when I started work." His voice had almost the same affect on me that his eyes seemed to.

"Right," I said, nodding. "I remember my Dad telling me you were working there."

Alice grabbed my sleeve then and said "C'mon Bella, I want to show you that jacket I bought."

I managed another quick glance at Edward as Alice pulled me down towards her room, and the guys went back to discussing whatever they were planning to do that night. Once we were safely in Alice's room, I unleashed my fury on her.

"You knew! You knew the whole time that he was going to be here, didn't you? And you let me just be blindsided like that? Alice Hale, how could you?!"

"Calm down, Bella. I just did you a very big favor," she said with a triumphant smirk. I raised my eyebrow at her and decided to allow her to expand on that before killing her.

"OK, Alice, you're going to have to explain that one for me."

"I had a feeling about what your reaction would be when you saw him, and I was right, of course. And from what I predicted, I knew that your first time actually speaking to him would be uncomfortable, possibly even incoherent. Of course, I was right again. I was there to prevent you from making a fool of yourself, wasn't I?"

"That's beside the point, don't you think?" _Evil, fortune-telling pixie…_

"Hardly," she said, pleasantly. "Now I know exactly what your feelings are where Edward Cullen is concerned, and I can help you with them."

"And, what exactly are my feelings?"

"I believe we could classify you as smitten." She had a smile like a Cheshire cat as she said this.

"No," I stated plainly. "You're totally wrong on this one, Al. I am just…just.."

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as I tried to figure out exactly what I was 'just.' Alice waited patiently for the rest of my response, sitting on her bed with that all-knowing look back on her face.

"I don't know, maybe I am, slightly. But, like I said, it doesn't matter. He's a senior and I'm a sophomore. Those relationships just don't work."

"Well, I hope you're wrong on that point." Alice looked down at her feet with a solemn look on her face then, and I suddenly remembered that the object of her affection, Jasper, was also a senior. Alice had been 'smitten,' as she put it, with him for almost six months now. And the fact that he was Emmett's best friend only made things more awkward if they ever did date.

"Oh, Al, I'm sorry. I just don't think it would work for me. But you should stay optimistic about Jasper, he's really nice."

"Yeah, but unfortunately he still sees me as Emmett's little sister – nothing more. I'm hoping that after he graduates it might make things easier. Of course, that's only if he doesn't travel too far to go to college. At least now I get to see him here once or twice a week."

As I sat there thinking about Alice's situation, I felt as though someone had flicked a switch inside of me. I was forced to admit to myself, with a mild sense of shock, that I did like Edward. Even if that feeling was based solely on some unexplainable attraction, it was still there. I supposed I could console myself with the knowledge that a crush based solely on attraction was bound to be short-lived, right?

"Hang on, I'll be right back," Alice said as she flitted out of her bedroom and down the hall.

She returned a moment later.

"The coast is clear. The guys all went somewhere, so let's go eat."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day I found myself feeling less anxious than I would have expected, knowing that I would see Edward at work. Alice would tell me it was because of her brilliant idea of surprising me with his presence yesterday at her house, but I wasn't so sure of that. Thankfully, I only saw Edward once in the halls at school today. The rest of the student body were all moving like cattle around us, so I didn't get more than a second's glance. But being in the police station, with only six other people at any given time, was another matter altogether. The thought of having to speak coherently to him was terrifying, but if I was lucky, I would manage to avoid him completely.

As I suspected, my luck had decided to take the day off.

I walked into the station and picked up the pile of mail that had been delivered. Once my things were properly stowed away, I started to deliver the various envelopes to their rightful owners. As I walked into my Dad's office, he gave me a wave and glanced up at me, looking wary, as if he wasn't sure if I was going to freak out like I did on Monday or not.

"Hi Dad." I gave him a smile, and dropped his mail on his desk.

"Hey, Bella. Everything okay?" Yep. He was worried.

"Yeah, great. School was good; I got a B plus on my Biology project."

"Oh. Well, that's good." He seemed satisfied with that answer, and went back to signing off on the traffic court papers he had in front of him.

I was apt to find anything on my desk when I arrived at work. Since I was considered 'unskilled labor,' everyone had me doing the things they didn't want to be bothered with. So, I decided to dive into categorizing the parking and speeding tickets by date and number. I was heavily engrossed in this task and thinking that I might do some Christmas decorating in the station, when a familiar voice made me practically jump out of my seat.

"Hi, Bella."

I turned to see the object of my obsession, a bronze-haired Adonis with a crooked smile, behind me making his way over to Charlie's office. It took me a second to find my voice, but I managed to at least sound human.

"Hi…um...Edward." He was almost to Charlie's office by the time I spoke, and probably didn't even hear me. Probably for the best, since he also couldn't see the bright shade of crimson I had turned.

I pretended to be very busy with my parking tickets, but couldn't help myself from eavesdropping on his conversation with Charlie. They weren't discussing anything exciting, just which car needed to be taken care of next, but I needed to know when he would be walking back this way. I didn't want to be caught by surprise again. A moment later Charlie had answered his questions, and he was making his way towards the corridor that led to the garage, past where I was sitting. I pretended to be very busy as if I didn't notice him, but I was completely aware of every footstep, every movement that he made. He walked past me and back down to where I had first seen him on Monday. Part of me was….disappointed? Let down? Was I expecting him to stop and have a conversation with me? What in the world would we talk about, anyway?

_God, Bella, get a grip!_

A couple of hours later I was finished with everything on my desk, and Charlie was almost ready to go home. I could see out of the window that Edward's car was still here, and temporary insanity took over. I slowly made my way down the corridor, unsure of where this sudden courage had come from, and looked through the window. So much for the twelve step program.

He was just finishing vacuuming one of the cruisers, wrapping up the long cord around the shop-vac, and checking under the seats to make sure he hadn't missed anything. I couldn't help but stare at the way his coveralls fit him. I didn't even bother to try to convince myself that I didn't feel an attraction towards this infuriating newcomer to Forks. It just wasn't worth it. Just then, he turned and caught me watching him. He smiled again, and waved at me through the door. Of course, I did the mature thing and immediately turned around, hyperventilating.

_What should I do now?_ I thought.

At that point I found my sense of reason, and decided that if I didn't at least say something to him, that I would look like a complete idiot. Yes, that was it! I would just casually say goodnight, like any other polite co-worker would do. That was a completely normal action, right? So, I opened the door just enough to stick my head in and saw him looking at me, probably wondering why I had just reacted that way. As I positioned myself halfway into the doorway and tried to manage a polite smile, it happened.

My feet somehow managed to become entangled in each other, and I went flying forward into the garage. A split second before I could land on my face, though, Edward was at my side grabbing both of my arms and helping me back up. I felt an electric current run through me where his hands touched the fabric of my sweater,

"Whoa. Are you okay, Bella?" he asked, his face now filled with concern. He looked curiously down to the ground to try to figure out what I had tripped on. This was going to be embarrassing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just tripped over my own two feet, that's all. I, uh…I do that sometimes." Might as well be honest.

"Well, I'm glad I was here, then. You really could have hurt yourself." He had an amused smile on his face now, which only made me feel worse.

"Thanks," I said, trying not to look at him directly. I could only imagine the blush that I was wearing now.

"It was no problem, really."

Against my better judgment I looked up into his green eyes. They really were dazzling. Why was I here again? Oh, yeah –

"I was just coming in to say goodnight. I'm going home."

Not that Edward Cullen was going to care where I was, but as soon as I told him I was going home, I felt like it was too much information. Like I was just confirming the fact that I was a kid who wasn't old enough to have any kind of a social life.

"Okay, well have a good night then, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said, and I managed to nod and smile as I turned and walked quickly out of the garage.

Charlie was waiting for me in his cruiser, but didn't seem to notice my ragged breathing or the color in my cheeks after my brief encounter with Edward. We drove home mostly in silence, which wasn't unusual. My father was not known for being a chatterbox, unlike the love of his life, my mother. Renee could carry on a conversation with a complete stranger and turn them into a close friend within an hour. I admired her lack of social anxieties, and knew that I would never be in her league when it came to being outgoing, but I was rather proud of my accomplishment tonight in approaching Edward to say goodnight.

I could imagine Alice squealing with excitement when I told her about this.


	3. Chapter 3 Tradition

**Chapter 3**

December was flying by fast, and I still had studying to do for mid-terms, as well as some serious Christmas shopping. However, my afternoons at the police station were becoming more enjoyable, and I found myself spending more time there than usual. Edward was very friendly towards me, and sometimes I would visit him in the garage and spend a half hour or so just talking to him about movies, our families, and general life in Forks. I worried sometimes that he might find my visits annoying, but if he did, he never let it show. He would always seem genuinely interested in whatever we were talking about, and I felt confident about my recent assessment of him – he had a kind personality and a good heart.

Alice and I had a crucial Biology exam coming up, so we asked one of Emmett's friends, Rich, to tutor us. He was probably the only friend of Emmett's who could be considered for both the jock _and_ brain categories in school, and he was happy to help us since Biology was one of his favorite subjects. I went over to Alice's house after school on a Tuesday so that we could get our studying out of the way. Emmett and Jasper were just leaving the house as Rich arrived, so they stopped to talk to him about a football game that they were all betting on this weekend. After a few minutes, Rich told them it was time for him to get to work.

"Hey, Alice, don't make Rich late for his date with Jessica later, okay? I hear it sounds promising," Emmett commented, and with that he elbowed Jasper in the ribs and winked. I couldn't help but get a little embarrassed at Emmett's blatant remark, but knowing Jessica Stanley's reputation, he was probably right.

"Emmett, don't be a pig," Alice replied, wrinkling her nose. "Bella and I both need a good grade on this, so if Rich is a willing victim, then we will take full advantage of his generosity. Got it?"

"Sure, sure." Emmett waved her off. "But you know, you could ask Cullen for help with this stuff, too. He's already got a scholarship to Stanford next year, and I don't think I've seen the kid crack a book since he's been here."

So, Edward was gorgeous _and_ intelligent? Somehow that just didn't surprise me.

"Yes, we will definitely keep that in mind for the next round." Alice gave me a knowing look that told me she understood completely what a bad idea it would be to have Edward tutoring us.

"So, Alice," Jasper said, winking and smiling coyly at her. "Good luck on the exam."

Alice just stared at him for a moment before managing to whisper, "Thanks, Jazz."

Emmett and Jasper took off for wherever they were going, and part of me wondered if Edward would be wherever they were off to. The night of studying turned out to be a success, since Alice and I both ended up getting higher grades than usual on the exam.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

Christmas Eve came, and my parents upheld their tradition of an open house for relatives, friends of the family, and whoever wasn't on duty at the police station. People came and went, and there was plenty to eat and drink. Renee, of course, was an outstanding hostess, and Charlie was even touched by the holiday spirit, playing bartender and socializing more than usual.

Alice, Emmett, and their parents had stopped by briefly, but they had other family parties to attend, so they only stayed long enough to sip some champagne, wish us all a Merry Christmas, and drop off a couple of small gifts. I talked with my aunts and uncles, who made the routine inquiries about school, and commented about how quickly I was becoming an adult. I enjoyed this gathering every year, mostly because it wasn't formal or structured. Nobody felt pressured to stay for any length of time, and nobody ever felt as though they had exceeded their welcome. It was a relaxing night that usually ended in carols being sung and laughter echoing through the entire house. I was walking through the dining room into the kitchen to get some more hors d'oeuvres to put out when I heard Charlie welcome yet another guest through the front door and offer to take their coat.

"Thanks for inviting me, Chief Swan." I heard a familiar velvet voice speak to Charlie.

_Oh no. No, no, no_, I thought, closing my eyes and shaking my head.

I had become used to speaking to Edward at work, and our conversations felt relaxed, but I was not prepared for the sudden panic I felt, knowing that he was in my house. My mouth went dry, my palms began to sweat, and my heart threatened to jump out of my chest. At this rate, I was heading for a full blown anxiety attack.

"We're so glad you could make it, Edward. I'm Renee Swan." I heard Renee greeting him. "Charlie says you are doing a great job at the station, and I know he's glad to have the help."

"Thank you, Mrs. Swan. I'm glad to be there."

"Please, call me Renee. Well," she continued, "there is plenty of food in the dining room, and I think Bella is in there, if you wanted to say hi."

When I heard Renee practically force Edward to come into the same room as me, I busied myself organizing the food and napkins on the table and pretended that I didn't hear him come in the house. This would at least buy me a few seconds for a couple of deep breaths and some semblance of composure. _Chill out, Bella. You and Edward are friends now, and you can talk to him just like a normal person. No need for every nerve in your body to go on high alert. _Was he here because he thought Charlie would expect him to be here? I wondered. Why else would he make a special trip here on Christmas Eve? Shouldn't he be with his family?

"Hi, Bella."

I turned and managed a smile as a breathtaking Edward walked through the doorway separating the foyer and the dining room. His bronze hair was still as unruly as always, and his green eyes were nothing short of hypnotic because of the dark green cashmere v-neck sweater which, I couldn't help but notice, accentuated the muscles of his chest and arms.

"Hi, Edward. I didn't realize you were coming tonight." I could already feel a blush starting, and I quickly tried to calm myself to avoid complete embarrassment.

"Well, when your father invited me I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it, but it turned out that I could after all."

"Oh, well, that's great." _Just. Speak. Intelligently!_ As flustered as I was, though, I would swear that something in his eyes said that he was actually glad to see me.

"Were the Hales already here?" he asked, looking around.

"Yes. They had to leave for another party, though. They only stayed about an hour," I managed.

"Oh, I was wondering if I'd run into them here or not. Emmett had mentioned it." Of course. He probably figured that he'd at least have someone to talk to if Emmett were here, and not just his boss and the boss' kid.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked, trying to remember my manners.

"Sure, a coke would be great. Thanks." I went to the cooler on the porch and got a coke and a glass, then returned to the dining room, placed the glass on the table and started to open the can.

"Ouch! Dammit," I muttered. My finger caught just at the wrong place on the can, slicing my finger. A few droplets of blood were already forming as the initial pain started to subside, replaced by a dull throbbing.

"Bella, oh my god – are you okay?" Edward came to my side immediately, and placed a napkin around my hand. I couldn't help but notice the intoxicating aroma of whatever cologne he was wearing. I made a mental note to sniff around next time I was at Macy's to try to discover what it was.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry about that, I just wasn't paying attention, I guess," I explained, again feeling that familiar heat rising to my cheeks.

"Please, don't apologize. You do have a tendency towards accidents, don't you?" he asked, smiling at me. I felt my temper flare a bit when he said that. I didn't allow many people to state the obvious like that.

"I like to think of myself as 'coordination-challenged.'" I scowled at him, and he immediately stopped smiling.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you. Uh, where can I get you a bandage?"

"There's a cupboard under the sink in the bathroom, right around the corner," I said.

"I'll be right back, then." And off he went, leaving me to once again feel like a helpless, clumsy child who needed constant supervision, lest she perish as a result of her own handicaps. Edward returned less than a minute later with a bandage and some antibiotic ointment, and before long my injury was forgotten by both of us. We walked around the downstairs of the house, and I introduced him to some of the people mingling around, then went into the abandoned den that held a couch, television, stereo, and a collection of books and music. Edward immediately started looking through the music collection.

"I'm assuming this is your section of music," he said, pointing to a stack of CDs that were separate from all of the others.

"Yeah," I replied. "Charlie and Renee don't exactly share my taste lately."

"Do you always call your parents by their first name?" he inquired, turning his head to the side a bit.

"Well, not when I address them directly, but most of the time I guess I do." I wasn't sure how he would react to that, but he surprised me.

"Oh. That's kind of cool, actually. It seems a lot more mature than the normal 'Mom and Dad' references."

"Um...thanks," I said, not really sure what the right response was. Edward looked up at me for a moment and smiled, as if something amused him. Then he picked up a particular favorite CD of mine.

"You like Kings of Leon?" he asked.

"They're songs are great, especially Closer. I like pretty much the entire CD there."

"So do I," he said. "In fact, I'm pretty excited for next month's concert. It turns out that Emmett has an extra ticket and asked if I wanted to go, so I jumped at it."

"Really?" I couldn't hide my shock or my enthusiasm. This had to be the same concert that Alice and I were going to, since I was pretty sure that Emmett wasn't going to both of the scheduled shows. So I couldn't help but smile to myself as I realized that, technically, I was going to a concert with Edward.

"Yeah, they're playing on the twentieth, at the Civic Port Arena."

"I know," I said, nodding. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to that same concert with Alice. And, actually, Emmett is supposed to be driving us."

"Really?" Now it was his turn to be surprised. "Well, I guess we both have something to look forward to, then." He smiled his dazzling crooked smile at me, and I couldn't help but wish that his words meant that he was looking forward to seeing me, not just the concert.

We were both ready for another soda, so we walked out of the den and found ourselves standing in the family room where everyone had gathered to hear Renee tell one of her hilarious stories of her and Charlie's early dating days. She loved to tell people how she all but had to throw a brick at the poor guy to convince him to ask her out. The way she told it, though, really got everyone laughing, even Charlie.

"Hey, you two, look up!" My Aunt Claire was smiling mischievously as she walked by, pointing to the ceiling. Before I raised my head even an inch, I figured out what she was indicating with her long, manicured nail. Renee had hung it just an hour before the party.

_The mistletoe._

Great, this evening needed a little awkwardness. Edward was looking up at the little ornament of holly and greens tied with a red ribbon hanging in the middle of the doorway, and I wished I could just crawl under the area rug and hide there for the rest of the night. Before I could execute my escape plan, however, Edward handled the situation in an entirely different way.

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want the responsibility of ruining anyone's Christmas by shirking tradition, would we?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer from me, he leaned over and I felt his soft lips press against the hollow of my cheek. The spark of electricity that his kiss and his closeness sent through me was nothing short of a nuclear explosion, and I know that he heard my breath catch. Before he stood straight again, he paused to whisper in my ear.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."


	4. Chapter 4 A Happy New Year

**As always, and sadly enough, I do not own Twilight or its characters. But it's nice to know that there are so many others out there that wish they did, too!**

**Special thanks to my friend Roisin Dubh, whose suggestions have helped me greatly. If anyone is looking for some really great Harry Potter fanfic, check out her work!**

**Chapter 4**

I wasn't scheduled to work over the next few days, which was good, because I walked around in a fog most of the time. I didn't feel ready to talk to Edward so soon after Christmas Eve, even though I felt fairly certain that he had already forgotten about it. Alice was thrilled when she heard my story about Edward's kiss, and made me recall every detail several times over.

"Alice," I said, "I don't think you should be getting this excited over it, really. It wasn't anything major." My words faltered at the end, though, because it was actually the most major thing that had ever happened to me in my life, and Alice knew me well enough to know that.

"Bella," she whined, "you can't ignore that kissing you on Christmas Eve _might_ just mean that Edward likes you more than just as a friend. If Jasper kissed me under the mistletoe, I'd be planning our wedding already."

I laughed, not because Alice was trying to be funny, but because I believed that she _would_ take it that seriously. I wasn't going to let myself read more into Edward's kiss than it was, though. Just a friendly holiday peck under mistletoe in the interest of tradition, and that was all. At least that's all it was to Edward, regardless of how I felt. After a few days of feeling sorry for myself, I decided that my original conclusions were right on target I mean, I never should have allowed myself to even dream that Edward and I had any romantic potential, so any wounds that I received from my delusions were my own fault, not his. I knew that I could call Edward my friend, and that he regarded me the same way. That would have to be enough, though, and I was determined that it would be for me. The one thing that hadn't occurred to me was - did he know how I really felt about him? It was embarrassing to think that he might be aware how intense my feelings had become. If he was aware, he never let on or took it as an opportunity to make me feel awkward around him. I decided he must not have had a clue, and I could console myself with the knowledge that I had managed to hide my true feelings.

When the Monday after New Year's arrived, the school was buzzing with news of who got what for Christmas, or who broke up with whom during vacation. I was eager to end the school day and get to the station, since I missed my afternoon chat sessions with my new friend. Being with Edward made it hard not to enjoy going to work. So, shortly after arriving there I finished what was left on my desk, made sure a fresh pot of coffee was brewing, and I walked to the garage and went inside. Edward heard the door and looked up, smiling.

"Hi, Bella. How was New Year's?" he asked while waxing one of the cruisers.

"Pretty good, thanks. Alice stayed at my house, and we watched some movies, so nothing too exciting. How was your night?" I was extremely curious about this, since I spent the first hour of the year imagining that I had been on the receiving end of a New Year's kiss from him.

"Oh, I was at a party, actually," he said, a little sheepishly. Was he avoiding my eyes when he said this?

"Oh, that's nice," I responded, not really knowing what else to say.

"So, no big date or anything, huh?" he asked me, finally looking up. Was he kidding?

"No. I don't really, um… I mean, there's nobody… I really don't have time to date with school and work and stuff."

My eyes were suddenly transfixed on my sneakers. I couldn't look at him for a few moments. If I did, I might be tempted to tell him exactly who I wanted to date and how badly. When I looked up, Edward had a strange expression on his face, as if he were figuring out a difficult math problem. When he looked away, he seemed… troubled?

"Bella, you know I have a girlfriend in Port Angeles, right?" he asked hesitantly.

The truth was that I had heard rumors of that, but never had actual confirmation. I mean, why would I ask him something like that? Of course he would have a girlfriend. He probably had to beat them off with a stick. But honestly, when I heard him say the words aloud, I was crushed. I was also mortified because it seemed that I hadn't been as elusive as I thought about my feelings. I could almost feel the pity rolling off of Edward as he stood there trying to read my mind.

"Um...yes, I did hear that. What's her name again?" Not that I had ever heard it, but I was scrambling to sound informed and reasonable. I suppose the honest answer would have been 'No, Edward, I really didn't know that. Since you mentioned it, though, I'll stop ogling you immediately.' Yes, that would have been poignant.

"Her name is Tanya Morgan. She and I have been dating for about two years now."

He watched my reactions carefully as he said all of this, so I was also being careful not to seem thrown by this new revelation.

"Oh, that's great. Is she a senior in Port Angeles?" I asked, feigning interest for the most part. I supposed this was his gentle way of letting me know that he was unavailable and uninterested, but all I could hear was the tearing sound my heart was making.

"Yes. She's actually just been accepted to Everest College for the fall semester," he replied.

"And I heard you're going to Stanford, right?" Part of me couldn't help but wonder for a moment what would happen if they went to separate colleges.

"Yes. Tanya actually picked Everest because it's close to Stanford. Since my scholarship only covers academics and books, we'll be sharing an apartment with some other students just outside of Palo Alto." Again, he wasn't meeting my gaze, and I wondered if he somehow knew the effect of what he was saying. Then a thought occurred to me. Did Tanya know that I spent time here with Edward, and was she upset about it? I wasn't about to ask that question, but part of me registered that _I_ would be upset if Edward were mine. We somehow managed to get away from the subject of his love life, and my lack thereof, and start talking about the upcoming concert. It was in less than three weeks, and it was definitely something I could look forward to. Edward seemed excited about it, too. It was nice to know we had similar taste in music and felt so comfortable talking about it.

I left that night with the strangest feeling. I can only liken it to a guilty criminal who just heard that the prosecution has found the murder weapon. At that point I was forced to acknowledge three things. First, Edward was in a serious, committed relationship. Second, he was leaving for college in about seven months. And third, I was completely and irrevocably in love with him.

**~*~*~*~*~*~ **

The next day Alice and I were sitting on our rock, and she knew something was really bothering me. She had been talking excitedly about a jacket she wanted for her birthday, but I really didn't hear much of what she said. When I didn't respond to a direct question, she called me on it.

"Bella, what's up with you today? You're really distracted," she commented.

"Al, did you know that Edward had a girlfriend back in Port Angeles?" I asked.

"Well, yes and no," she said, sounding very guilty. "I heard Emmett ask him one time about this girl, Tanya, and it sounded like it might be someone he was dating, but I wasn't sure. I would have told you if I was, but I figured there was no reason to upset you if he really wasn't dating anyone, and I thought maybe Tanya was his cousin or something."

"Well, she is definitely not his cousin," I said. "They've been dating for a couple of years, and apparently they chose colleges near each other so they could be together."

"Oh, Bella, I'm sorry," Alice said, putting her arm around me. "How did you find out about her?" she asked.

"Well, that's the worst part, actually. I think he might have picked up on my feelings for him, and he just came right out and told me at work yesterday. Things were cool between us after that, but I still felt like an idiot," I said.

"He just blurted it out, and you hadn't asked him anything about her?" she asked, scowling and raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah. Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Well, it's just interesting, that's all. Nothing, really," she said.

"C'mon, Alice, no more withholding information. If you know something, or even _think_ you know something, let's hear it," I instructed her.

"I don't want you to read more into this than you should, Bella. I just think it's strange that he made it a point to tell you that, and yet he asks about you every time he's at my house with Emmett. I swear Emmett knows something, but I'm not sure what. And you know they all stick together when it comes to their 'men's code of silence.'"

I was curious as to his reasons for asking about me that often, but I knew Edward was a nice person, and I supposed it had to be hard for him, knowing how I felt about him and seeing me so often, but not feeling the same about me. Plus, I was his boss' daughter on top of everything. I knew I had to reign in my emotional monsters and do everything possible to preserve our friendship and not make him feel uncomfortable around me. I knew in my head that I could do that. Convincing my heart would be more of a challenge.

**~*~*~*~*~*~**

The next couple of weeks went by quickly, and Edward and I seemed to fall into a nice familiar pattern of conversations that steered clear of Tanya and college. The small group of friends that I hung out with at school, besides Alice, was none the wiser to my love interest, and that was fine, too. Everything seemed under control, except for my favorite pixie. Alice was determined that we were both going to have boyfriends by the time the spring cotillion came up. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, since my feelings for Edward weren't exactly tamed, but I also knew that I needed to socialize more. Alice had ulterior motives, as she was hoping to make Jasper jealous. The weekend before the concert, Alice and I were at the gym taking an aerobics class, when she leaned over to me and whispered excitedly into my ear.

"Bella, don't look now, but we're being watched," she said, and giggled.

"By who?" I whispered back.

"Two guys in the back, near the elliptical machines. The red tank top and the green T-shirt."

I pretended I was stretching, leaning over casually so that I was half-facing the back of the gym, and saw them. Alice was right; they were definitely checking us out. The one in the green shirt caught me looking and quickly averted his eyes.

"Okay, Alice. So they're looking at us…and?"

"Oh, Bella, don't you know anything about boys? They are _so_ plotting their next move."

Maybe I didn't know that much, but I was entertained by the way Alice kicked into 'flirt mode' without the slightest bit of effort. We finished the class and Alice wanted to walk on the treadmills for a while. She said under her breath to me that we should leave one treadmill open on either side of us, just in case anyone wanted to join us or start a conversation. I just shook my head, because I knew there was no point in arguing with her. And sure enough, after a few minutes, the guys we had seen earlier had each taken a spot on the available treadmills next to us. The one I had seen in the green shirt had chosen the one next to me, and I wondered to myself how they had decided who would be on which side. Alice smiled at 'red tank top guy,' and before I knew it they were carrying on a conversation.

They were juniors from Haviland, the next town over, and joined this gym when theirs went out of business last month. Alice introduced herself to Ben in the red tank, and then introduced me. Ben said hello to me, then introduced the green shirt as Mike, and I said a polite hello to him. He was cute, with blond hair and blue eyes, but the way he smiled at me made me feel like a piece of meat.

"So," Ben directed to Alice, "do you think you might want to go out to a movie tomorrow night?"

Alice thought for a minute before answering.

"Well, since we only just met, I'd feel better if we could go out with another couple, you know, at least on the first date."

Ben looked over at me, then at Mike. I rolled my eyes, because I knew what was going to come out of Ben's mouth next before the words even formed in his head.

"Hey, Mikey! Are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"Well, that depends." Mike looked at me then and smiled. "Bella, would you like to join me for a movie tomorrow night? Apparently our presence is requested as chaperones for these two."

"Um, sure, I think I can do that," I said. Why not? I mean, it wasn't like I had a better offer, or even a chance of one.

"Great. We're going to hit the showers and head to work, so we'll plan to pick you up tomorrow at six o'clock," Ben said.

"Perfect," Alice chirped as she handed Ben her address and phone number. "See you then."

"See you tomorrow then, Bella." Mike waved at me, and I smiled and waved back. Maybe tomorrow night would be a good start for me. I needed to start my life at some point, right?

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

The next day I arrived at Alice's house at five thirty. We were both dressed, hair done, and make up applied perfectly. I had to admit that part of me felt excited about the date, even if it was just a movie. Before meeting Mike and Ben, I was starting to feel like my sophomore year of high school was going to be known as 'that year I didn't do anything.' Ben and Mike arrived at six, as promised, and we left for Port Angeles. It was about a forty five minute drive, but it had the only decent theater around, and there were plenty of places to go if we wanted to get something to eat later. During the drive, we heard all about Mike's parents' sporting goods store, and how both he and Ben worked there part time. They were both really into fishing and hunting, and seemed to be good at both, according to their stories. Ben's father worked as an architect and his mother stayed home to take care of Ben's grandmother, who was sick. Waiting for the movie previews to start, Ben and Mike asked us about our families and what we did in our spare time. Mike actually looked intimidated when I told him my father was the Chief of Police, which I had to admit I liked.

The theater was crowded that night, and finally the movie started. It was a baseball drama with a love story mixed in – something for everyone, Alice had said. When she put her mind to it, she made planning the perfect date an art form. About halfway through the movie I spotted Ben's arm around Alice. Mike apparently saw this as his cue, and draped his arm around the back of my chair. That was fine, I didn't really mind at the moment, since he really wasn't touching me. Of course, my lack of protest only made him brave. He leaned further into me, and I instinctively inched away, closer to Alice. He thought my shift in position was just a way to get more comfortable, though, and then moved in for a light kiss. _Okay_, I thought, _I'll give in for the moment, but the second he pulls away I'm telling him to knock it off_. But suddenly his kiss intensified, and I felt his whole body shift so he was almost in my seat with me. His hands fumbled their way around my waist, looking to quickly gain entrance under my sweater, and I knew it was time to take action. I pulled my face back and pushed his hand away, shaking my head and giving him a death glare. Mike seemed nice enough, and I didn't want to bruise his ego too badly, but there was no way he was going to continue this. I could see Alice watching our exchange out of the corner of her eye, and she looked like she wanted to say something.

"C'mon, let's go get some popcorn." Mike grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him. I didn't really want popcorn, but he was intent on my company. Once we were out in the lobby of the theater, he looked up at me, embarrassed.

"Bella, I'm sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking, really. I didn't mean anything by it, please don't be mad." I was a little impressed with his apology, so I smiled at him and nodded.

"It's okay, Mike. Let's just forget about it and watch the movie, okay?" I suggested.

"Great." He smiled, and we went back inside, where he kept his hands to himself for the rest of the date.

Alice and Ben seemed to get along very well, and Mike was not a bad guy, despite his lack of control. We all decided that we would get together the following weekend for dinner and hanging out at the mall, and that we would see each other at the gym on Tuesday. The guys dropped us off at Alice's house at eleven o'clock, and she and I stayed awake talking until almost one-thirty, when both of us fell asleep, exhausted.

**I'm so thrilled that this story gets as many hits as it does. Please, if you can just take a moment, I'd love to hear from you. Getting reviews is like having my own personal muse, and provides me with the encouragement to keep writing and updating often. Please review, good or bad! Thanks!!**


	5. Chapter 5 Protectors

**I'm so thrilled that this story is getting a lot of hits and alerts. Please, please take just a moment to review. I need the encouragement! Thanks. :)**

**Oh, and of course, I don't own Twilight. Not a page, not a character, not even an autograph. Just a barbie doll, which really doesn't do Edward justice.**

**Chapter 5**

That January in Forks was one of the coldest in ten years. Charlie was very busy working with the Forks Department of Public Works, keeping the roads cleared of snow and ice, and it felt like the arrival of spring was nothing more than a faraway dream.

Alice and I had met Ben and Mike at the gym on Tuesday, and we were looking forward to our dinner out on Saturday. It was going to be a busy weekend with the concert on Friday night, but that was fine with me. I couldn't wait to see Kings of Leon, and to spend some time with Edward outside of work. I hadn't told Edward about my date with Mike; not that I was keeping it from him, but I didn't know exactly how to blurt it out, either. And besides, it really wasn't a subject I was comfortable talking about with him.

Emmett, Alice, and I drove to Edward's house to pick him up. Growing up, I remembered the house that the Cullens had purchased, and I was amazed at how much it had changed since they moved in. His mother had been redecorating and, being a real estate agent, knew about curb appeal. Alice jumped in the backseat with me when we pulled into Edward's driveway, and he came bounding out of the house and climbed in beside Emmett.

"Hey, bro," Emmett greeted him.

"Hey, Em," he replied, turning towards the back seat where Alice and I sat.

"Hello, ladies," he said with a smile.

Alice and I both said hi, and we rode to the concert with Emmett's car stereo basically ruining any chances of a civilized conversation. I couldn't help but notice how wonderful the car smelled now that Edward's cologne permeated the air, thanks to the heat being turned on full blast.

The whole concert was amazing. The music was fantastic, and Alice had maneuvered our seating arrangement so that Edward and I were between her and Emmett. Alice and I couldn't stop dancing and jumping the entire time, and I realized that wearing my new boots was definitely a mistake, no matter how good Alice said they looked. At one point, Edward leaned over to me with a big smile across his face.

"Having fun?" he practically yelled over the music.

"Yeah, how about you?" I hollered back. He nodded enthusiastically rather than try to keep up a conversation.

By the end of the concert, my ears were ringing and my feet throbbed from the new boots. Our seats were in the thirteenth row, and we had to wait for some of the crowd to thin out before we could exit the arena and endure the long, slow process of getting out of the parking lot. We stood around talking for a few minutes before trying to leave, and Emmett was telling Edward about his upcoming date with Rose, one of the cheerleaders at school. The subject of dating must have rung a bell with him, because he suddenly turned to Alice, taking on the roll of big brother.

"Hey Alice, what's the deal with this guy that's been calling the house? Ben? Is that his name?"

"Yes, Ben is his name, and he's very nice, Emmett," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Bella and I went on a double date last weekend with him and his friend, Mike. We're going out with them again tomorrow night."

Edward turned and looked at me curiously, as if he was wondering why I hadn't told him about Mike. I had to admit I felt a little satisfaction at this, but part of me wondered why he cared, anyway. Even though we were friends, I avoided the subject of his love life, so I didn't feel the need to share details of mine.

"So, how old are these guys? Where did they take you?" Emmett continued his Q&A session.

"Jeez, Emmett, they're juniors at Haviland. We just went to a movie, nothing major," Alice responded, giving Emmett a look that said 'mind your own business.'

"Oh, I guess that's cool, then, as long as they behaved themselves."

"Well, Bella's date got a little out of hand in the movie theater, actually, and she had to put him in his place," Alice explained, smiling. _Did she really need to share that much information? _I looked over at Edward, and he had that look on his face again; like he was still trying to figure out that math problem. He looked at me then, a question obviously burning in his mind.

"And you're going out with this guy again?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess so. Why?" I asked.

"No reason," he said quietly, looking away. I was caught off guard by the sudden, protective tone of his voice.

Emmett and Alice found an opening in the crowd and were starting to ascend the stairs, so Edward and I followed behind them. There were so many people it was hard to stay together as a group. Alice grabbed on to the back of Emmett's sweatshirt so that she wouldn't get trampled under someone's feet, and suddenly I felt an electric current run from my fingers up to my right shoulder. I looked down at the source of the shock, and found that Edward had laced his fingers through mine, and was holding my hand. I looked up into his eyes with what I'm sure was a surprised expression.

"I wouldn't want you to get lost, Bella," he said with a smile, and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. We walked like that until we were out of the arena, across the parking lot, and almost to the car. I wondered if he could feel how badly my hand was sweating, or how my pulse started racing the moment he touched me. When I was no longer in danger of being separated from the group and he let go of my hand, it actually felt like a part of me was suddenly missing. I silently chastised myself for having such an intense reaction, and tried not to smile too much when Alice winked at me in the car, telling me she had been all too aware of what had just transpired.

The next night I planned to stay overnight at Alice's house, since we were probably going to be out late. Her parents were a bit more relaxed about curfews, and Alice said it was because Emmett broke them in for her. When I arrived at Alice's house, I was surprised to see Edward's car parked outside on the street. As I walked into the kitchen with my overnight bag slung over my shoulder, I was even more surprised to see Edward and Emmett sitting at the table, expectantly.

"Hi," I said to both of them.

They both greeted me with a sheepish 'hi,' and looked at each other nervously. I was about to ask them what was up when Alice came stomping into the room.

"Bella," she said, with a scowl on her face. "Did you have any idea what these two were planning tonight?"

"Nope," I answered honestly. "Should I?"

"Well," she continued, "it seems that our two protectors here want to give our dates the third degree before we leave. I already told them that if they so much as glance at Ben or Mike that they would both be dealing with two very pissed off young ladies. Right?" she asked, looking for my support.

"You were going to do what?" I asked Edward directly. He shifted in his seat, feeling uncomfortable now under my glare.

"We just wanted to check them out and make sure they seemed like decent guys, that's all, Bella," he tried to explain.

"So, I'm not a good enough judge of character to decide who I should date, is that it?" I asked.

"C'mon, Bells," Emmett tried to interject, "you know that guys can tell things about other guys that girls don't pick up on. Besides, if this Mike knows that you have big brothers watching out for you, he'll think twice about making any wrong moves."

I stood there for a minute trying to process exactly how I felt. Part of me was angry that Edward and Emmett would take it upon themselves to screen our dates. Another part of me was insulted that they, particularly Edward, didn't think I had enough brains to date 'decent guys.' And thinking of Edward as my brother just felt wrong from almost every angle imaginable.

Then there was that other part of me that was secretly thrilled. I mean, Edward was spending part of his Saturday night making sure that I was safe. And after holding my hand last night at the concert, I took this as a sign that perhaps he cared more than I expected him to, even though it would never be as much as I hoped. Still, what right did he have to choose who I dated when I had no say in his love life? I suddenly had an idea. If Edward and Emmett were determined to play the part of the concerned siblings, then perhaps Alice and I should give them something to be concerned about.

"Okay then, fine. No problem," I said, and walked past them and up the stairs to put my bag down in Alice's room. She, of course, flew up the stairs immediately after me.

"Fine? What do you mean, fine?" she asked, questioning my sanity with her stare. "You know they aren't going to leave here until we get picked up, right?" she continued.

"Trust me, Al," I said, and a look of understanding came over Alice's face as I gave her a conspiratory smile.

Ten minutes later, Alice had re-checked us both for proper makeup and hair placement, and we were waiting in the front hall, out of Edward and Emmett's view. When we saw Ben's car pull into the driveway, we headed for the kitchen. Mike and Ben knocked on the door a moment later, and Alice let them in. She gave Ben a hug and told him she was glad to see him, and he was surprised, but happy, at her enthusiasm.

Mike came over to me then and said, "Hey, Bella. Wow, you look nice tonight." He looked at me from head to toe, and that feeling from the gym came back to me.

"Thanks," I said, attempting to give Mike a seductive look and putting my hand on his shoulder. "You look pretty handsome tonight, yourself." At this Mike gave a broad smile, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Edward shift in his seat again.

"Ben and Mike, this is my brother Emmett and his friend, Edward," Alice stated, pointing to them. All four guys offered a quick hello and nod of their heads, and then it got very quiet. I swear that Edward and Emmett were looking at Mike and Ben to see if they recognized either of them from America's Most Wanted. It was time for us to leave them to their own thoughts.

"Okay then, our Princes have arrived, and we are off to the ball," Alice stated, lacing her arm through Ben's. I wrapped my arm around Mike's waist and we headed out the door behind them. Once we were outside, though, I heard the door open again and footsteps behind us.

"Excuse me," Emmett said as he grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her back around the corner, effectively stopping all of us in our tracks. "So where are you going tonight, exactly?" he more demanded than asked.

"Well," she said, following my lead, "we are going to dinner, and then maybe go for a drive to check out the full moon tonight. Who knows?" she said coyly. Emmett looked at me, and I just raised my eyebrows and shrugged, as if to say anything was okay with me. I heard a frustrated sigh come from Edward, and immediately felt as though my mission had been accomplished.

"Goodnight, Em," Alice said quietly, and she wriggled loose from Emmett's grip and we both got into the car with Mike and Ben.

Ben and Mike took us to a nice restaurant just outside of Seattle called Les Restants. The atmosphere was very French and romantic, and the food was excellent. I was happy to see that all of the menu items were listed in English, because I didn't feel that my first year of high school French had prepared me for the complete immersion experience yet. All through the evening we ate and laughed, and generally had a good time, but my thoughts still kept drifting to the concert the night before, and to Edward. It felt wrong to be dating Mike when my heart really couldn't belong to him, but at the same time it felt wrong to put my life on hold for someone whose heart couldn't belong to me. This definitely came under the category of "life isn't fair." After dinner I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and Alice followed me in there a few moments later.

"Bella, the guys want to go somewhere after dinner. What do you think?" she asked, biting her thumbnail.

"Like a movie, or something else?" I asked.

"Definitely something else," she said, eyeing me sheepishly. "I think my earlier comment of checking out the full moon is close to being on target."

Oh God, no. I should have seen this coming. Of course they would have taken our earlier actions as a promising sign of…something. I looked at Alice, and it seemed like she had made up her mind that this would be a good thing, and I didn't want to ruin her night. But I just couldn't see myself with Mike, even if Edward didn't exist. The thoughts of fighting him off in the back seat of Ben's car made me nauseated.

"Alice, I can't. I mean, it's fine if you want to go with Ben, but I don't feel that way toward Mike. Are you okay with that?" I wished so badly at that point that we had taken two cars instead of one.

"Yes, I understand. But, can I ask a question?" she asked hesitantly.

"Go ahead," I replied.

"Is it because of someone else?" That girl knew me way too well for me to even pretend that didn't have something to do with it.

"Partly, yes," I said, "and partly no. I honestly don't think Mike's someone I want to keep dating long term, and I don't want anything to get awkward between you and Ben if things are working out, you know what I mean?"

"Yes, and I'm fine with that. I just want to make sure that you aren't hanging onto a dream and waiting for your Mr. Perfect."

"I know," I said as I gave her a hug. "So what do we do now?"

"I think Ben and I should leave the two of you alone for a little bit so that you can talk, and then we'll head back to Forks. Something tells me I'll be seeing Ben again soon, anyway," she said, smiling.

I was happy that things were going so well between Alice and Ben. But I also dreaded the conversation I was about to have with Mike, and didn't hold much hope that our evening would end as well as Alice's.

I was both very right and very wrong.

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	6. Chapter 6 A Knight to Remember

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. It's a wonderful thing to see those messages pop up! For those of you who have asked about an Edward POV, I have decided that he does need to have his say. It's always good to hear what's in his head - almost as good as staring into his eyes! ;) So, I promise that will come soon. Meanwhile, enjoy!**

Chapter 6

When Alice and I returned from the ladies' room we all got our coats on and walked out to the parking lot. Alice quickly made an excuse to pull Ben back into the restaurant, saying that she forgot her cell phone back at the table, and that was my cue to talk to Mike. It was cold outside, but awkward conversations always made me feel as though someone had turned up the heat to ninety degrees.

"Um, Mike, I need to talk to you," I said.

"Yeah, sure. What's up, beautiful?" he asked as he put an arm around my shoulder. I turned to face him so that his arm fell away and thought _here goes nothing_.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think we should date each other anymore." Mike lost his goofy grin at that point and blinked a couple of times, processing what I was saying to him.

"Uh, okay, so what would be the right way to take that?" he asked, confused by my sudden turnaround.

"It's just that even though we've all had a good time being together, I haven't really felt more than a friendship connection between you and me, and I don't think it's fair to you, or even to Ben and Alice, to start something that I know I can't finish. I'm sorry."

"I see," he said, and the look on his face darkened by the moment. "And do you think it's fair to mercilessly flirt with me and let me take you out, and then not be willing to give anything back in return?" Now I was confused. He was upset about the money?

"Mike, I'm happy to pay for my own meal, and I didn't mean to mislead you earlier. I was wrong, and I really am sorry."

"Mislead me? I think you were doing more than that, Bella. You were practically telling me to take your clothes off the moment we came to pick the two of you up! And now I'm supposed to just accept that you only see me as a friend? I don't think so." He was staring me down, and suddenly he looked smug, as if a brilliant, yet deviant, idea had occurred to him. "Unless, that is, you're talking about friends with benefits. Maybe you'd rather have that kind of friendship?" With that he moved closer and slipped one hand inside my coat and around my waist and the other one around the back of my neck, and tried to kiss me.

"Get off, Mike!" I said loudly, pushing his hands away.

"Don't tell me this isn't something you wanted, Bella. I'm more than happy to oblige, but you need to stop fucking around with me. It isn't nice." He continued his advances, and I looked over to the restaurant entrance to see if Alice had come out yet. No sign of her, though. I pushed Mike away again and started walking quickly toward the restaurant when I felt a searing pain at the back of my skull. I stopped short because Mike had grabbed a fistful of my hair and was pulling me back to him. Again, he grabbed me around the waist with his other hand and began giving me his interpretation of how tonight would continue. Somewhere behind us I heard a car door close, and I hoped that someone would walk by and distract Mike long enough for me to get away from him.

With his mouth at my ear he said, "Listen to me, Bella. I don't really care if you want to be friends or not. Right now I am so pissed off that if I never see you again after tonight, then that will suit me fine. But you are not going to embarrass me in front of anyone, do you understand that?" I couldn't do anything at that point but stare at the side wall of the restaurant with wide eyes, feeling the fear rise in me as he continued.

"Since you are obviously good at acting, then I expect you to be a good little actress and just pretend that you're enjoying the rest of our evening together. And if you relax a little, who knows? You might even really enjoy yourself." Mike's tongue found the side of my face while his fist still clutched my hair, and again I tried to look around to the entrance in hopes of seeing Alice, or even Ben. They weren't there, but I was completely stunned by who was.

Edward was running at superhuman speed across the parking lot towards us. He reached us just as Mike turned my head and tried to force his tongue in my mouth. In a matter of seconds Edward had reached out and grabbed the collar of Mike's jacket, pulling him away from me and sending him to the ground.

"What the fu-?" Mike started to yell, but then recognition came over his face. "You? What do you think you're doing, man?" Mike demanded. I had never seen Edward's eyes as black with fury as they were at that moment. The look on his face made me feel a little scared for Mike, as vile a creature as he was.

"Get out of here now," Edward seethed, "before I rip your head off. And if you ever so much as look at Bella again, I will personally see to it that your life span is cut short."

Mike got up slowly, apparently debating whether or not to take Edward seriously, and decided that it was in his best interest to do so. He looked at me and shook his head in disbelief, and I just glared at him, putting as much venom in my stare as possible. He turned and jogged back to Ben's car, looking back a few times to make sure he wasn't being followed. We watched him climb into the car, and it looked as though he locked himself in.

"Bella," Edward said, turning to me, "are you alright?" His eyes were scanning my face and hair, looking for any sign of trauma.

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, although that wasn't entirely true. My head hurt like hell where Mike had pulled my hair, and I still wasn't over the shock of everything that had taken place. As I slowly regained my senses I looked up at Edward and asked him, "What are you doing here?" Edward looked a bit guilty and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, seemingly trying to decide how to best explain himself. He sighed then, apparently deciding that the truth was his only option.

"I followed you here," he said quietly.

"What? Why would you do that?" I asked incredulously, but the voices behind us interrupted before he could answer.

"Hey guys, should we head back…?" Alice's voice trailed off as she realized that it was not Mike standing next to me. Ben looked completely confused, and looked towards his car, where a very pissed off Mike was sulking.

"Okay, what's going on?" Alice asked, looking at both Edward and I. I wasn't sure what to say in front of Ben, so I kept my answers a little vague.

"Mike didn't react too well to our talk, and things got a little out of control. The next thing I knew, Edward was here and Mike is now sitting in Ben's car." I gave Alice a knowing look that told her I would expand on things later, and she immediately took the hint. Ben just started shaking his head, and I thought I saw a grimace on his face before he spoke. I was surprised to hear what he had to say, though.

"I'm sorry for whatever Mike did or said, Bella. He really can be a good guy sometimes, and a great friend, but he has to learn that he's not the center of the universe when it comes to women. Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah Ben, I'm fine, thanks. I'd just rather not be around him," I said.

"I can drive you back to Alice's house, so you don't have to be in the car with him. If you want me to, that is," Edward said. I nodded my head, thankful that I could avoid any more unpleasantness with Mike tonight. I also had several questions for my knight in shining armor, which could lead to unpleasantness on his part, depending on his answers.

Ben turned to Alice then. "I'd still like to spend more time together if that's okay with you, Alice. How about we dump Casanova off and then I drive you back to your house?" he asked, sounding unsure of what Alice's reaction would be.

"That'd be fine," she said, "I'd like that." And she smiled at Ben reassuringly.

Alice stepped over to me and gave me a hug, then whispered, "I'll see you back at my house. Be careful." I knew it wasn't my physical safety she was referring to. I just nodded my head and followed Edward back to his car. Once we were settled into his Volvo, we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road towards Forks. I wasn't sure how to start our conversation, but I had many questions burning a hole in my brain, so I just started at the beginning.

"I'm not sure whether to be angry at you or grateful," I started, trying to sort out which feeling should take priority.

"Well, you could just thank me and get over it," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Thank you," I said quickly, realizing that I hadn't said that before.

"But you're still angry," he stated.

"Yes. I mean, sort of. I think I'm more curious, actually. Why exactly did you follow us?" I asked. Edward let out a deep sigh and looked over at me for a moment before starting his explanation.

"When I left Emmett, I really just wanted to keep a safe distance from you in case anything strange happened. I didn't like the feeling I had when we met those guys. More from that jerk Mike than Alice's date, though. He was looking at you like you were something to eat, and I just didn't feel like you were safe with him."

"And it's your job now to make sure I'm safe?" I said, a little harshly.

"I feel…very protective of you," he said softly. "I'm sorry if I overstepped a boundary, but I don't regret showing up." He said this with such determination that I felt a tug at my heart.

"Oh," I said softly, abandoning all harshness. "Well, I guess I don't regret you showing up, either. But I was very surprised, to say the least."

"I imagined you would be if I had to show myself," he replied with a slight smirk.

"'Well, but not so much because of what happened. When Alice and I left, I assumed you would have gone out with Tanya tonight, since you didn't see her last night." I could feel the heat rising up my neck and face as I wondered what kind of boundaries I was now crossing, and whether I really wanted to go there. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but think of the concert and the wonderful time I spent with Edward last night, and how so much could happen in just twenty-four hours.

"Um, no, I'm not seeing her tonight," he said. The way he said it, though, sounded strange to me. _Should I ask him why?_ I thought. No. Something told me that wasn't a subject I needed to hear about right now.

Neither of us knew what to say, it seemed, and we rode in silence for a few minutes. When the monotonous hum of the engine seemed too much, we both reached for the radio's power button. Our hands brushed against each other for the briefest second, and I mumbled "Sorry," as I took my hand away. Edward just looked at me with his hypnotic eyes for a moment and turned on the radio. The song playing was by Kings of Leon, and I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at the call letters on the lighted display, not lost to the irony. Edward gave a soft chuckle and reached over the console just enough to take my hand and lace our fingers together.

We didn't say much after that, nothing significant anyway, and I was thankful for the chance to collect my thoughts. I was adjusting to the feeling that my universe had somehow shifted tonight, and that my relationship with Edward had taken an entirely new direction. Now I was eager to find out what direction that was, exactly. But that would be a conversation for another day.

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	7. Chapter 7 Stakeout

**For those of you who have questioned Edward's intentions, here is a chance to hear his side of things. Thanks to my friend Burntcore who has a wonderful story, Breaking from the Ordinary, which I am totally addicted to. She was definitely a help on this chapter when I thought I was losing my mind (or Edward's). :)**

EPOV

I sat in my car feeling like a complete fool. What was I doing here? What right did I have to meddle in Bella's personal life? I couldn't answer that question any more than I could bring myself to start the car and drive back to Forks. Something told me that I needed to stay put and just make sure that my gut instincts were wrong, and I hoped they were.

While I sat in the parking lot of Les Restants, I tried to figure out exactly how I got here. Not here in the parking lot, but here in this state of over protectiveness and, if I was being honest with myself, jealousy, over a girl who I hadn't even known long enough to reasonably cause me to feel this way.

After those first uncomfortable weeks of being in a new town and a new school I started to feel more at home and was making some good friends. I had even managed to get a job at the police station doing what I had done previously in Port Angeles. I was a little more than surprised to discover that the Police Chief's daughter worked there as well. I had noticed her staring at me in the corridors at school, and I smiled to myself as I remembered our first conversation (if you could call it that) at Emmett's house. It wasn't anything more than a pleasant greeting, but something about her eyes made me want to get to know her better.

I smiled even wider when I thought about our second conversation. Bella had come into the garage to say goodnight after work and ended up tripping over…well, nothing. I couldn't help but find her admission of clumsiness endearing. After that, we would have frequent talks at work about our lives and our families. Bella was a person who was easy to talk to, and it seemed like we were truly interested in what each other had to say, allowing a friendship to develop almost effortlessly.

My own boldness surprised me on Christmas Eve, when I kissed her under the mistletoe. It was an innocent act, I told myself, but the opportunity to do such a thing was just too much for me to resist. She looked so beautiful and more mature than her age that night, and as usual our conversation had been relaxed and natural. I felt something like an electric current when my lips touched her soft cheek, and the heat from her blush only made me want to take her face in my hands and see what fireworks might ignite from a real kiss. But, of course, I didn't dare. And the way she stood up to me when I mentioned her tendency towards accidents was refreshing; Bella was not the typical teenage girl who was going to let some guy get away with anything she didn't like.

I never expected to feel anything other than friendship towards her, but I couldn't deny that I found myself thinking of what it would be like to be more than friends. Not now, but someday. We both had growing up to do, and I didn't want to be one of those high school boyfriends who left for college, breaking her heart and regretting it later. If something was meant to be between us, then it would have to wait until we were both ready. Besides, right now I had to sort out my relationship with Tanya.

With that thought I let out a heavy sigh_. Tanya... _I really had no idea where things stood with her, and tried to avoid thinking about the situation. Her and her _space_, as she put it. We had been together for a long time, and at first she seemed like the perfect girl for me. We had fun together and hung out with the same friends, and it just seemed natural that we would continue as a couple during college. But lately it seemed as though she wanted too much, too fast. Having us share an apartment with other freshmen instead of staying in dorms was fine with me. But before our most recent fight, when she demanded her space, she was becoming more and more insistent about just getting an apartment for the two of us and 'starting our lives together.' I wasn't ready for that. And I wasn't sure if the reason for my hesitation was because I didn't want that yet, or I didn't want it with Tanya. Especially with her attitude surrounding my new address.

She loathed the idea of visiting me in Forks, and couldn't understand why I didn't spend every minute outside of school traveling back and forth to Port Angeles. When I first told her that my parents had decided to move, she was outraged. She had even suggested, to my horror, that I move in with her and her parents until it was time to head off to college. Declining her offer did not do much for her attitude, and she recently decided to punish me by canceling several of our dates, only sporadically returning my calls, and providing cryptic or vague explanations when I would ask her why. I knew this was her way of testing me, and at first I had felt some resentment towards my parents for taking me away from my girlfriend, my friends, and the city I grew up in. Slowly, however, I was beginning to wonder if they had done me a very large favor.

My friendship with Bella seemed complex from the first time we met, and I could never put my finger on why that was. It was Emmett's friend, Jasper, who finally shed some light on the situation when he explained to me that Bella obviously _liked_ me. I didn't really believe him at first, but over the past few weeks I've begun to see things differently. The realization made me a bit uncomfortable at first, both because of Tanya and the fact that Bella was two years younger than me, but it did not make me unhappy.

My thoughts then returned to what I was doing. Wouldn't Bella be able to handle anything that might happen with that hormone-overloaded boy she was with tonight? Was my presence really required? I knew she would be furious right now if she knew I was out here, especially after what happened before she and Alice left the house. But I was not going to take a chance with her safety, and hopefully she would never even know I came.

Finally I saw some people exiting the restaurant, and I watched closely because I recognized Bella, Alice, and their dates. I watched them head towards the other end of the parking lot, then Alice suddenly brought her date back into the restaurant. My view wasn't perfect, but I thought that Bella looked nervous. As I observed her conversation with Mike, I thought that it was heading south quickly, until he moved to take her in his arms and kiss her.

I felt a little deflated at what I saw, but part of me was just glad that Bella appeared to be safe. If this guy was what she wanted, then I would call off my stakeout immediately. But her reaction to the kiss caused me to sit up and watch intently to see what would happen next. She pushed him away and seemed to be making it clear that his actions were unwelcome. I watched carefully then, my body wanting nothing more than to run over and reinforce her decision to Mike. But my reasonable side took over, and I decided to allow her to make her own choices and have the opportunity to diffuse the situation. I would only get involved if it was completely necessary.

I had to admire her resolve when she turned and started back towards the restaurant where Alice would be. I was glad that she was seeking the safety of being with other people after how Mike had just pushed himself on her, and that she would not just give in to his whims. I was still a little concerned, though, because I knew she would have to be with him for the remainder of the evening, and I didn't know how long that would be.

Mike's next move both shocked and infuriated me; the bastard actually grabbed Bella's hair and pulled her back to him, obviously not pleased at her refusal. I snapped.

As I watched fear overtake her usually calm expression, my instincts took over and I was out of the car before I realized what I was doing. My feet flew across the parking lot and before I reached my intended destination I saw those kind eyes, now fearful, searching for safety. It warmed my heart when her expression changed to one of surprise, and maybe even relief, when she saw me.

My priority was getting him away from Bella, so I quickly dragged him down by his jacket and he landed on the ground with a thud. Once he processed what was happening and voiced his surprise, I let him know exactly what he could expect.

"Get out of here now," I said, trying to remain calm. I don't remember my next words exactly, but I think I threatened his life. My only concern at that point was whether or not Bella was hurt. In any case, Mike got up and turned around, quickly returning to the car they had arrived in, looking back a few times to probably gauge Bella's reaction to my showing up uninvited.

"Bella, are you alright?" I asked her, expecting to see bruises or something, I didn't' know what.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said. Her head must have hurt her where Mike pulled her hair, but my Bella was always the brave one who didn't want anyone to think that she was less than capable of handling things.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. I should have been prepared for that question, but truthfully I wasn't. I thought for a moment, trying to decide the most plausible excuse for being at the same restaurant their dates had chosen, but in the end I just couldn't lie to her.

"I followed you here," I answered guiltily.

"What? Why would you do that?" she asked. _Oh boy, here we go_, I thought. Luckily I was saved by Alice and Ben, who had just exited the restaurant and had noticed that Mike was not the person talking to Bella.

"Okay, what's going on?" Alice asked, looking at me skeptically. She looked around then, most likely expecting Emmett to be nearby. He, however, had decided not to join my little crusade, giving his sister the privacy she had every right to demand. Not that he wasn't worried, though; I knew he expected a call from me in the morning with an update on my 'surveillance.'

Bella gave the abbreviated version of what happened just minutes before, and I had to admit that I was impressed with Ben's admission of Mike acting like an ass when it came to women. He asked how Bella was, and seemed sincere when he apologized on Mike's behalf. I felt comfortable giving him a positive review when I talked to Emmett.

"Yeah Ben, I'm fine, thanks. I'd just rather not be around him," Bella answered Ben's question. I realized quickly that this was my opportunity to not only ensure Bella's safety for the rest of the night, but also to spend some time with her. But it would definitely be her choice, since I obviously had not given her one up until now.

"I can drive you back to Alice's house, so you don't have to be in the car with him. If you want me to, that is," I offered. Bella just nodded, and something told me that I would be interrogated, like the criminal that I was, once we were safely in my car and on our way. I made a silent resolve to be truthful with her. Nothing less than that would make me feel worthy of her friendship, never mind anything else.

Ben turned to Alice and asked if he could still drive her home, dropping off Mike in the meantime. She seemed to like the idea, so Bella and I walked toward my Volvo after the girls shared a brief hug.

I watched Bella fasten her seatbelt and wondered how our conversation would start. No matter how uncomfortable it made me, I would endure each and every question just being glad that my mission tonight had not been in vain and that she was safe, with me.

"I'm not sure whether to be angry at you or grateful," she stated. _Okay, that was reasonable_, I decided.

"Well, you could just thank me and get over it," I said, trying to make light of the situation.

"Thank you," she said suddenly.

"But you're still angry," I noted, _and with good reason_.

"Yes. I mean, sort of. I think I'm more curious, actually. Why exactly did you follow us?" she asked. I looked at her then, more to build my courage than anything.

"When I left Emmett, I really just wanted to keep a safe distance from you in case anything strange happened. I couldn't shake the bad feeling I got when we met those guys. More from that jerk Mike than Alice's date, though. He was looking at you like you were something to eat, and I just didn't feel like you were safe with him."

"And it's your job now to make sure I'm safe?" she said, obviously angry. Again, honesty was my only defense.

"I feel…very protective of you," I said, fearful of her reaction. "I'm sorry if I overstepped a boundary," I added, "but I don't regret showing up."

"Oh," was all she said, for a moment.

"Well, I guess I don't regret you showing up, either." I let out a breath when she said that. "But I was very surprised, to say the least."

"I imagined you would be, if I had to show myself," I replied, thinking of myself doing PI work as opposed to going to medical school. She took me off guard when she clarified, though.

"'Well, not so much because of what happened, but when Alice and I left tonight I assumed you would have gone out with Tanya, since you didn't see her last night."

"Um, no, I'm not seeing her tonight," I said. Tonight had been complicated enough. I didn't need to bring my situation with Tanya into the mix if I could help it.

We were both quiet then, and I decided that some music would help us both deal with the silence. We both seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she reached for the radio's power button at the exact moment I did. Our hands touched, and I quickly apologized, but I'm not sure why. I turned on the radio and recognized the song at once; we had heard it last night at the concert. I just had to laugh at how so many things had happened in twenty four hours, yet so many things were the same. I felt so close to Bella right then, I couldn't have stopped myself from doing what I did next. I reached over the console and held her hand, much like I had done the previous night. I had no other reason than it just felt right, and comforting.

After I pulled into Alice's driveway, we sat quietly for a moment, and she looked as though she was expecting me to do something more. I wanted to. _God, did I want to_, but I couldn't. It took all of the strength I had in me not to kiss her.

"Be safe, Bella," I managed to say, looking at her with the hunger of an animal. She nodded slowly, seeming to understand my meaning.

"Goodnight, Edward," she said, and got out of the car and went into Alice's house.

I went home and took a very, very cold shower.

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	8. Chapter 8 Connections

**Wow, it's definitely been a while. Please review if you want another chapter within a week! (It really inspires me.) Again and still, I don't own Twilight. Lucky girl, that Steph!**

The electricity between us was almost palpable, as if a magnetic force was willing us to come together. I was sure that he felt it, too, and that he wanted to act on the desire to explore the strange turn that our friendship seemed to take that evening. But, once I was out of the car and the spell was broken, I forced myself to chalk it up to an overactive imagination. I supposed that wanting something to happen between us so badly made it seem real to me, and those kinds of mind tricks were to be expected when you find yourself in love with one of your best friends. God knows I had my share of fantasies about Edward over the past months, but they normally waited to surface until I wasn't around him. This was a new twist to my psychosis.

The more I got to know Edward, the more I fell in love with him. And realizing that my opportunities to spend time with him were coming to an end in a few months, I spent as much time as I could in the garage. I tried not to make it look too obvious to Charlie or the other people there, though, because in a small town like Forks rumors circulated like tornadoes, and did just as much damage to anyone in their path. It horrified me to think of the gossip mongers of our small town making a meal out of my personal life, or Edward's.

Alice spent a lot of time on the weekends with Ben, which I was fine with. I missed having her all to myself, but if the tables were turned I knew she would be supportive of my relationship. And in a sense I did have my own relationship going on, albeit one-sided. She and I went to the gym together as much as possible, and sometimes Ben and Mike would be there, too. Ben and Alice would talk, of course, but Mike would just glare at me from whatever piece of equipment he was working out on at the time and stay on the opposite side of the building. One day Edward asked me if I had heard from Mike at all since "that night." He failed miserably at trying to conceal a very smug smile when I told him about Mike's efforts to avoid any contact with me.

As was my routine, I sat in the garage one night watching Edward work on Charlie's cruiser and discussing movies, when he abruptly changed the subject.

"Bella, do you have your phone handy?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," I mumbled, nodding. "Do you need to use it?" I pulled it out and handed it to him. He started to push a lot of buttons, and I was going to ask him if he needed help when I heard his phone ring. He took it out of his pocket and hit a button before putting it away again.

"Thanks," he said, handing my phone back. I held the phone in my hand, staring at him quizzically.

"Sure, no problem," I managed, "But, just out of curiosity, why did you need my phone when yours is in your pocket?" I asked. Edward gave me one of his crooked smiles as he answered.

"I added my cell phone as a contact on your phone and then sent your number to my phone," he explained. "That way if there's ever an emergency or a need to reach me, you'll be able to."

"Oh," I responded, "I guess a bat signal would be too cliché, huh?" I smiled when I thought of all of the emergencies I could find myself in. Edward may have just found himself a full time job.

"It would just make me feel more at ease knowing you could reach me," he said, and he looked away just as I caught a glimpse of redness touching his cheeks. I wondered for a moment how helpless he really thought I was, but my heart swelled with the idea that he was basically putting himself on call twenty-four hours a day in case I should need him. The problem was, I _always_ needed him.

"Well, the same goes here," I said, thinking that I should return the kindness. "If you find yourself stranded or lost, feel free to send out an S.O.S., and I'll come rescue you for a change."

"Thanks, it's a deal," he said. So, now we were trading phone numbers and giving each other permission to call if either of us needed anything - well, sort of. I wondered if maybe this meant we were good enough friends that I could explore some taboo territory. The masochist in me wanted to know how things were going with Tanya, but the timid lamb inside of me was telling me not to be reckless.

"Edward, can I ask you something?" I began, still unsure if I should ask the question on my mind.

"Uh-huh," he said, reaching under the hood of Charlie's cruiser.

"How's Tanya?" I almost choked on her name, but luckily it wasn't audible. Edward leaned over so that he could look at me from under the hood, and I gauged from his expression that he wasn't expecting that question.

"Fine," he said, but he looked down and his brow was creased, as if he wasn't entirely sure of his answer. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, well, she doesn't live around here, and I never hear you mention her, so I wasn't sure if everything was still okay between you." _Oh my God, did I really just say that?_

"Well, I won't say things are perfect by any means. Tanya is a really nice person, and she seems to have definite ideas about where her life is going, but sometimes I'm not sure if I'm headed in the same direction. I guess I'm not ready to entirely grow up yet, which puts me in the same category with about ninety-nine percent of the male teenage population." With that he stuck his head back under the hood and continued working. But, was I smart enough to leave things alone? No, of course not.

"So you're still planning on moving in together when you leave for college then?" I asked, trying to keep the tone of my voice light.

"Yes, at the moment that's still the plan," he said, not looking up. I scrambled for something to say, trying to avoid an awkward silence.

"Well, whatever happens I'm sure it will all work out for the best." I immediately wished I had said something different as Edward looked into my eyes with a very confused expression on his face. It was almost as if he knew that whatever happened to make things work out between him and Tanya would never be what I considered 'for the best.' Luckily, before I could open my mouth and insert my foot any further, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who had sent me a text, and saw ALICE written in the display, so I opened it to see what the little pixie was up to.

B, I NEED U. MY HOUSE ASAP. ~A.

I wanted to text or call her to find out what was wrong, but since I didn't like where my current conversation was headed, I excused myself as quickly as I could.

"Something's up with Alice. I've got to head over to her house, so I guess I'll see you later," I said, jumping off of my stool to leave.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Um, I think so. She didn't really say what was up. Could be just a fashion crisis, but apparently she doesn't want to deal with it alone." Alice had been known to declare a shopping emergency if she didn't have the exact right shoes to wear with a particular outfit, and I was used to being dragged to the mall at a moment's notice.

"Be safe, Bella," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Thanks," I replied, giving him a wave from the door.

Charlie had no problem with me leaving a little early since he had planned to go home soon anyway, so I walked the two blocks to Alice's house after texting her that I was on my way over. The moment I stepped into Alice's house my breath was taken away by the driving force of my best friend throwing herself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. I felt panicked and demanded to know what had happened, but it took her almost five minutes to blurt out what had triggered this devastating reaction.

"H- he- he broke up with me!" she managed between breathless sobs.

"What? Alice, what happened? What did he say?" I asked, incredulous. It took Alice a minute to compose herself, and we walked upstairs to her room just in case either of her parents came home - or worse, Emmett. She sat on her bed and I knelt down in front of her, holding the hand that she wasn't using to hold her tissue, murmuring to her that it would be okay, and waited for her to be ready to tell me what happened.

"Well, he texted me during last period to say he was coming over after school. I was really psyched, since nobody else was going to be home for a while and we could just hang out, you know?" I nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"So, he gets here and he's acting all weird. Usually the first thing he does when he sees me is kiss my forehead and asks how his 'little Tinkerbelle' is doing. It was always so sweet when he'd call me that...." she trailed off and looked off into space, and I could tell that another round of crying was about to commence. Sure enough, it was another couple of minutes before she was composed enough to finish the rest of the story. I was already wishing that Ben was nearby, because the word "asshole" written with a Sharpie across his forehead would just about do the trick right now for what he was putting Alice through.

"There was this girl, Charlotte, who he had dated a few months before we met, and he said he never really got over her. All of a sudden she decided that she wanted to get back together with him, and he said that he needed to find out if they were meant to be or not." I was almost struck dumb by what Alice was telling me. I never took Ben for the kind of guy to just jump back to an old girlfriend. But, then, I didn't really know him that well and neither did Alice, for that matter.

"Oh, Al, I'm so sorry," I said, giving her a hug. "I don't think anybody could have seen that coming," I reassured her while rocking her back and forth.

"I know," she whispered. "Jeez, when I think about how close I came...." she said more to herself than to me, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you know..." she said, giving me one of those looks.

"Alice, you didn't!" I nearly yelled once I realized what she meant. I knew, though, that she would have told me if she had had sex with someone.

"No, Bella. I didn't," she said. It didn't escape me that she almost looked disappointed at her own admission.

"Alice, you don't think that's why he really broke up with you, do you?" Alice had told me that Ben was eager to take things all the way, but it didn't seem like it was a deal breaker. Alice didn't seem to think so, anyway.

"I don't know, Bella. I know that he and Charlotte did it, and part of me wonders if he wouldn't have considered going back to her if we had. Maybe it meant more to him than I thought."

"Alice, think about what you're saying. Aren't you the one who said she wanted to wait for her "Mr. Right," and wasn't going to be talked into it by some high school boyfriend who probably wouldn't even remember it years later?"

"Are you quoting me on that?" she asked, smiling a little for the first time since I saw her that day.

"I am, actually," I said, smiling back. "Besides," I said quietly, "I know better than anyone that there's someone else you'd be happy to wait for, even if it means dating a few jerks first." Alice looked up at me and I could tell that she was thinking about Jasper, which was my intention. Slowly the signs of distress left her face, replaced with calmness.

"You know what? You're right," she stated confidently. "If I had let Ben talk me into losing my virginity, and anything ever did happen with Jasper, I would have regretted it. I know I won't regret _not_ doing it with Ben. I did really like him, though."

"I know you did," I agreed. "Listen, I'll stay as long as you want me to tonight, but I don't want to hover if you need some time alone."

"Do you think Renee would let you stay over?" she asked. While I dialed my phone, Alice went to the bathroom to wash her face. After explaining to my mother what Alice had been through that day, she had no problem letting me stay overnight to comfort my best friend, even though it was a school night. She even offered to drop off some clothes and my toiletry bag on her way to yoga class after confirming that I didn't have any homework that needed to be done. Sometimes she could be an amazingly cool Mom.

Alice's parents had worked late that day and were exhausted when they got home. They ordered Chinese food and we sat around the kitchen table with them and Emmett, everyone eventually arguing over who was getting the last egg roll. Of course, the joke was that nobody really wanted it except Emmett, and we all burst out laughing when, with a deathly serious look on his face, he offered to arm wrestle all of us for it. Alice had told them during dinner that she and Ben had broken up, and everyone said they were sorry to hear it, but thankfully nobody pressed for details. Emmett took off after dinner and Alice and I cleaned up while her parents went into the family room to watch TV and relax.

Upstairs in her room later, Alice and I picked out a chick flick to watch containing almost no romance, and got ready for bed. As I went for the remote to start the movie, Alice stopped me.

"Wait. We have to do something first," she said, grabbing her laptop.

"What's that, exactly?" I asked.

"Find a new gym," she said as she started Googling. I nodded and smiled, thinking that wasn't a bad idea at all.

After the movie ended and Alice had one last cry for the night, we both began to drift off. I was just starting to fall into a deep sleep when suddenly I was jolted awake with a buzz under my head. Not realizing what was happening, I sat up looking around. Alice was sound asleep, the room was pitch dark, and I vaguely remembered where I was.

I had left my phone next to my head, and I must have rolled onto it at some point during the last few minutes. I looked down at the lighted display and saw only the letter "E." Still half asleep, I opened my phone trying to figure out what was going on.

BELLA – I TALKED TO EM. HOW'S ALICE? -E

My heart sped up when I realized who it was that had texted me. I didn't know what to write, so I replied with just the facts.

HI. SHE'S OKAY NOW. SLEEPING. I'M STAYING W/HER. –B

I didn't have to wait more than two minutes before my phone buzzed again.

U R A GOOD FRIEND. SWEET DREAMS. – E

I read the message about twenty times before shutting my phone and lying back down. Was he kidding? How was I supposed to have sweet dreams when there was absolutely no chance of me sleeping now?

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	9. Chapter 9 Milestones

**This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends, Holly. Bella likes Rum & Coke, too! Love you!**

**As always, I don't own Twilight or any of it's "stuff." I just play in Steph's world - and I love her world!**

Chapter 9

Alice's heartbreak over Ben lasted about two weeks, and during that time I was subjected to a lot of 'retail therapy.' I was happy to see her through whatever steps to recovery she needed, but I also found myself enjoying the time I was able to spend with her. I wanted to be there for her whenever she had a breakdown, and there were quite a few. But we made it through, and life would go on; I had no doubt in my mind that Alice would find another guy who would appreciate her for the wonderful person that she was. I think I had even convinced her that Ben didn't deserve her, and she almost admitted as much to me one day. That was a turning point, and she was back to her old self after that. Edward asked about her one day at work, and I suspected that Emmett had been filling him in on the situation as much as he could, given that Alice didn't really confide in him.

"She really must appreciate what a good friend she has in you, you know," he said.

"Mm-hmm," I agreed. "Well, we've been best friends for quite a while now, so I know she would do the same for me if the situation was reversed," I explained. I wondered if he thought about whether Alice would be comforting me after his impending graduation and subsequent leaving that was looming on the horizon.

"I know Emmett values your friendship with Alice a lot. He doesn't worry about her as much with you around. It gives him peace of mind," he said, checking the air in the ambulance's tires nearest to the stool where I always sat.

"Huh," I expressed. "I never realized Emmett even gave that much thought."

"Oh, you'd be surprised at some of the things that cross Emmett's mind," Edward said with a chuckle. I thought for a minute before replying, since I had never really thought about what Emmett might think about, least of all my being almost a part of his family. Maybe I hadn't given him enough credit in the big brother department?

"You know, you're probably right. I figured that the only people interested in what crossed his mind were the editors of Sports Illustrated and Playboy. I always took him for a jock with a mind for pretty girls and not much else. He must do okay in school, or else he wouldn't be graduating, but I just don't see much more. Is that terrible of me?" I asked, a little embarrassed at my admissions.

"No, I don't think so. And neither would Emmett," Edward replied smiling at me. "He likes to be thought of as the ultimate ladies' man. So, your assessment would suit him fine."

"Oh," was all I could reply, not being able to help the smile responding to Edward's own. "So, are you looking forward to graduation?' I asked, thinking it was an innocuous subject.

"I am, actually," he answered, thoughtfully. "Funny, though. It's such a turning point, yet I feel like I'm not ready to choose which way to go. On the one hand, I'm ready to leave for college and experience life out from under my parents' roof, but on the other hand there are parts I'm not sure that I'm ready for."

"You mean living with Tanya?" I asked, boldly.

"Well, yes, I suppose that's part of it," he said, looking at me with cautious eyes. "But it's also the choice of a college major, making a commitment to something I may be doing the rest of my life. I'm not sure I've fully decided what I want to do."

"I thought you had decided on being a doctor?" I asked, surprised at his sudden confession.

"I thought so, too. And part of me still thinks that's the right choice for me. But lately I've just been unsure of so many things, I wonder if I haven't rushed my decision based on what my parents want, not necessarily on what I want."

"What do you think you want?" I asked innocently.

"That's the other problem. I'm not sure what the answer is there, either," he said in a whisper, looking intently into my eyes. He looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up at me. I felt like I could see right into his soul, as if I was the only person in the world who existed at that moment. He stood and walked towards me then, slowly, still holding my gaze.

"Bella," he said, "there are so many things right now that are confusing. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are here for me, but the last thing I want is for you to get hurt in the crossfire of my uncertainty."

My heart was about to jump out of my chest at his words. There was no question at that point that Edward knew exactly how I felt about him, but his words confused me, too. I was afraid that not only Edward, but everyone in a radius of ten miles, could hear the frantic pace my heart was keeping.

"Edward, I just want you to be happy," I said, my voice slightly cracking. I realized at that moment that those words were truer than I had known, and I felt an epiphany at how much I truly loved this boy standing not two feet from me. He chuckled lightly then.

"Bella, if I were truly happy, things would be very different," he said. At that point he came two steps closer, wrapped his arms around me, and held me. It was a hug, nothing more, but the heat and electricity that was in the air mimicked that night in the car, and I knew we both felt it. I wanted so badly for him to do what I believed we both wanted at that moment, I could hardly stand it. But after just a couple of moments he pulled away, looking even more lost and confused than before, but somehow also happy. As if the embrace that we just shared somehow had given him some strength to go on, and make the decisions about his life that had to be made.

But where did that leave me? What decisions did I get to make? I was going to be left here in Forks without him; with nothing left of the love that I had found but the memories that I would hold onto for dear life. I had to push those thoughts back into the back of my mind as I just enjoyed and reveled in the complete bliss that I had found in his arms at that moment. It was nothing short of pure heaven, and I would not let my insecurities cause me to lose that. My memories would just have to see me through when the time came.

Three Months Later…

I woke up feeling groggy, and pulled myself up into a sitting position to help get my bearings. Alice's daybed was comfortable enough, but after the graduation party the night before, I didn't feel like I had slept well. I ran my hands over my face and looked over at Alice, who was still sleeping peacefully, and I smiled as I thought about how happy she must be after last night.

The previous night…

"_Bella! Bella!" Alice squealed as she ran over to where I was standing with Charlie and Emmett's friend, Rich. _

"_Alice, what is it?" I asked as she pulled me over to the side of the driveway. Alice was literally bouncing up and down with excitement._

"_You're not going to believe this, Bella. Jasper just asked me out!" she exclaimed, still bouncing._

"_Alice, are you kidding? That's great!" I hugged my best friend, knowing how badly she had wanted this. I was so happy for her, and yet part of me couldn't help but envy that she had fallen for someone who could actually return her feelings. I was not that lucky._

"_He said that Emmett wouldn't let him ask me out even though he wanted to a while ago, but now that graduation is behind them he finally gave in. I could absolutely kill my brother for making me suffer for so long!" she said, but the look of pure bliss on her face while she made her threats against Emmett didn't given them much weight. _

"_I'm so happy for you, Al," I said sincerely. _

"_Thanks, Bella. I can't believe it! I need to run inside for a minute, but I'll be right back," Alice said. I nodded at her as she skipped towards the house. I would have to remember to keep her away from the helium tank; one whiff of that and she would definitely float away._

_I was walking back to Charlie and Rich when I saw Edward and Tanya out of the corner of my eye. They were standing in the back yard near one of the food tables, talking with Edward's parents. He must have sensed that he was being watched, because he turned and looked directly at me. He started to smile, but then looked curious as he took in my expression. I must have been scowling; I had to admit that I felt angry. I was angry at him for not making my dream come true the way Jasper had for Alice. It was a little immature of me to feel that way, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I looked away, unable to smile and pretend that everything was okay._

_I changed direction and went over to the table where the beverages were and poured myself a Coke. I spotted the bottle of Captain Morgan's Rum nearby and decided that my Coke needed a little spicing up, so I added some to my glass. I wasn't a drinker, which was apparent when I started to cough and spit after adding too much of the rum._

"_Bella, are you okay?" I heard a voice ask. It was the last voice I wanted to hear at the moment._

"_Um, yeah. Fine. Really," I answered Edward, but not very convincingly. _

"_Hey, go easy on the hard stuff, okay? You know that guy standing over there is the chief of police," he said, cocking his head in Charlie's direction and grinning at me. I was torn at that moment between wanting to kiss him and wanting to slap the smile right off of his face. Of course, I was too chicken to do either, and knew I was letting my emotions get the better of me. _

"_So, congratulations on graduating. You must be pretty psyched," I said, effectively changing the subject._

"_Thanks. Yeah, I really am. Not that I minded high school, but I am looking forward to Stanford in the fall," he replied. _

"_But won't you miss the fast-paced life that Forks has to offer?" I asked, teasing. He was pensive for a moment, and then his eyes turned down suddenly, and he looked serious. My mind returned to our conversation in the garage a few months ago._

"_There are some things I will miss very much," he said slowly. Before I could register a reaction he looked up at me with his crooked smile and excused himself to go back to his parents and Tanya._

"_Hey, sweetie, are you having a good time?" Renee asked as she poured herself a glass of wine. Her sudden appearance startled me and I almost dropped my own cup._

"_Hi, Mom. Yeah, it's great. Alice did a nice job, as usual," I said._

"_That girl knows how to organize a party, that's for sure," she said, looking around at all of the decorations. I had to laugh a little, since that was usually Renee's specialty. "Bella, what are you drinking?" Uh-oh._

"_A Coke," I answered. I hated lying to my mother, but there was no way I was having this conversation with her. It also didn't seem fair to be reprimanded for something that I wasn't even enjoying._

"_Oh," she said. "Are you staying with Alice tonight, or do you want me and your father to drive you home later?"_

"_I'll stay here with Alice and help clean up. I can walk home tomorrow morning," I answered._

"_Okay, honey. Well, I'd better go rescue your father from Principal Bonner before he shoots himself; or Principal Bonner, for that matter. Have fun," she said, winking at me before she turned and walked away. Alice came bounding out of the house then, and I couldn't help but notice that she had checked her makeup and her hair, for Jasper's benefit of course._

"_So, have you talked to Edward today?" she asked when she reached me._

"_Just enough to get an AA pep talk from him," I replied sarcastically. "Part of me really wishes I could just see him as a friend, Alice. It's not getting any easier knowing that he's leaving soon and that there's nothing for me afterwards except having to get over him," I whined._

"_You still have the summer to see him at the station, though. Don't forget a lot can happen in three months," she said. _

"_Yeah, I guess," was all I could reply. I looked over again to where Edward was standing, and I could have sworn he was staring over at me and Alice, trying to figure something else out, before turning his attention back to his mother. As they left the party a bit later, he waved over to where I was standing with Alice and a couple of other people, and I think he mouthed "See you tomorrow," as he left with his hand entwined with Tanya's._

The next morning…

I yawned and stretched as I thought about the rest of the night. The party ended well after midnight, and everyone seemed to have a great time. I saw Jasper saying goodnight to Alice, and they looked so good together. I could tell by the way he was looking at her that he had wanted to ask her out much sooner than he had been allowed by Emmett, and Alice looked nothing short of blissful. I was sure she would be in a perpetually good mood not just for today, but for quite a while.

"Quite a night, wasn't it?" Alice asked me as she stretched and swung her legs over the edge of her bed.

"You did a great job, Al. Everyone really had fun," I said, smiling.

"That's not what I was referring to, but thanks just the same," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh? Why, did something else happen?" I asked, teasing. A pillow made contact with the left side of my head a split second later, and I laughed.

"I still can't believe it," she said, looking starry-eyed up at the ceiling.

"I'm really happy for you. Jasper is a nice guy, and you two probably have a lot in common. At least you both have some funny Emmett stories, if nothing else," I offered, and Alice giggled.

"We're going out next Saturday. Oh my god, Bella, we need to go shopping for an outfit! I have absolutely nothing to wear for a first date with him!" I knew this was probably the farthest thing from the truth, since Alice's closet would rival that of any current supermodel, but I also knew that buying a new outfit for her date would ease some of her anxiety and allow her to enjoy herself more, so I would happily play along.

"No problem, just tell me when," I said. We both stood up and walked toward her bedroom door, both needing our morning caffeine fixes, and she put her arm around me and squeezed my shoulder.

"Thanks, Bella. What would I do without you?" she asked rhetorically. Silently, though, I wondered the same, just in reverse.

**OK, so not a ton of reviews last chapters - just my faithful friends (whom I appreciate more than you know!). If you haven't reviewed, please let me know what you do or don't like! Should I continue with Merlot when I write, or should I switch to Pinot Grigio? You have the power... :) Please review - it means so much.**


	10. Chapter 10 Lots to Say

**Contrary to popular belief I did not move to a non-internet zone, get lost in a haystack maze, or decide to become a roadie for KC and the Sunshine Band (yes, they still tour). ****I am just late. It happens. I do apologize, however, as I do to all of my family members every time me, my husband, and two kids are supposed to be somewhere at two, and we arrive at four.**

**As for the chapter, I hope you enjoy. Reality is hard to write sometimes, and this was a doozie. Reviews will make my muse work wonders on my timing - I promise!**

**Oh yeah - before I forget, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. Except my Edward barbie. She can buy her own.**

Chapter 10 – Lots to Say

**Tanya POV**

Finally, graduation came and went. It felt like time was playing a cruel joke on me, stretching itself out and making me feel as though the day would never arrive. But once it did I knew that high school and its dreary social politics, academic requirements, and restrictions were behind me. At last I could move on to a life I was ready for – some college (to appease my parents), marriage, and children. Of course, Edward would complete college and continue on to medical school, but I had already looked into housing for married students at Stanford, and the option was there for those in their second year and beyond. We would only use that as a last resort if we somehow couldn't manage our apartment, but it would be a means to a fairytale ending. It was perfect.

Edward was not a planner, so my role in our relationship was to organize our future and ensure that it took place. I had to be persistent with him, though. Quite often he wasn't even aware of what he wanted until I made him realize it. I loved him enough to be patient, though, and even patronize him a bit when it came to his insecurities. I knew that once in a while he doubted our relationship; I could tell by the exasperated tone of his voice, or a certain look he would give me when he felt that I was being overbearing. Nevertheless, I had enough faith in our love for both of us, and that would be the strength of our union.

Edward was fortunate that I was not the jealous type. I knew about the girl at his school that had a crush on him, and it did catch me by surprise when I found out he worked with her also. But after realizing that she wasn't even old enough to drive yet, I knew there was nothing to be concerned over and I put her out of my thoughts.

**Renee POV**

I'm worried about Bella.

Not that she can't handle herself, but I fear that she won't know enough to keep her head when it comes to matters of the heart. I suspected that her feelings for Edward were more than friendship at Christmas, when I noticed from the other room how he took care of her when she cut herself, and how she reacted to him. It made me curious, and I continued to watch them. They were inseparable for the rest of the night. Bella assumes that I am not observant, especially when I'm hosting a party. But little does she know that I noticed Edward's coyness after Charlie's sister, Claire, practically threw them together under the mistletoe. Claire has always been an instigator – but I would deal with her later.

Then Charlie mentioned how much time Bella was spending in the police station garage with Edward – I had an awful feeling that this would not end well. The problem was, what was I going to do? Bella had such a strong will, and if I said or did anything to try to keep her away from him, it would only strengthen her resolve. If I went along with it, she could get hurt – or worse, something could happen between them that could make things worse. This was one of those decisions that came under the category "for their own good." Unfortunately, that was a broad term, and nobody had specifically defined the parameters. What the hell was the right thing to do?

Bella obviously had strong feelings for him – that much was obvious. I had almost resigned myself to letting nature take its course, until the graduation party.

She had been avoiding him all night. He was there with his girlfriend, which had to be painful for Bella if my intuition was correct. She talked to Alice a lot, and mingled with other guests, but I could see her eyes frequently turning towards him; him and his girlfriend. Why did he have to bring her? Didn't he know how Bella felt about him? After a while, Bella walked over to the beverage table, and I noticed that she poured rum into her coke, which surprised me; Bella didn't drink, I was fairly certain of that. I checked on her to make sure she was okay, and she said she was. When I saw Alice talking to her, then I knew everything was at least under control. She was staying with Alice for the night, so there was no trouble that she could get into, and I thanked my stars at the moment that she had Alice for a friend.

As a parent, I had no idea how to handle this. As a woman, I could understand how fierce, yet fragile, first love was. My own first love had been fierce enough to make me elope at the tender age of nineteen. I had no regrets about it; I loved Charlie and our life together more and more every day. But my hopes for Bella involved college, a career, and choices that I didn't take advantage of. Perhaps it was selfish of me to want to live vicariously through her, but that was a mother's prerogative.

**Alice POV**

Poor Bella. My own happiness consumed me at the graduation party when Jasper asked me out. It kills me to think that Bella's misery is going to continue while Edward goes off to college. And the fact that Bella knows that he'll be living with Tanya makes it even worse for her.

He's not fooling anyone, really. I've seen the way he looks at Bella. His eyes are practically smoldering when she wears something even slightly seductive – although on Bella, a tank top looks fabulous enough to be seductive. That girl just needs a little more fashion sense. If I could talk her into a weekend in New York to go shopping for some really great clothes…. Wait, I'm getting off track here.

He came to rescue her from that creep Mike, for crying out loud. I thought that was going to be a catalyst, for sure. How in the world is he going to leave her to go to college and never know what might have been? And how am I going to pick up the pieces of my best friend's broken heart when he does?

**Charlie POV**

Looks like Bella and Edward get along pretty good. Renee mentioned something about a crush, I think. I don't know. I try not to get involved with that kind of thing.

Part of me wishes that I could avoid all of the turmoil going on right now. Just close my eyes and pretend it's not happening, and let a professional do all the worrying for me, hand out the perfect advice, and fix the problems. That's what they get paid for, isn't it?

It's hard enough watching these young people make mistakes, but they always seem to think that they know what's best, don't they? Sure – don't listen to the people who have been through this before and know what to do. Oh no – that would make too much sense. No matter how many times they either get hurt or take the loss that you don't want to see happen, they just don't get it sometimes. I just wish whoever was making the decisions would just fire that ridiculous coach and move on to someone that can keep these guys in line. Damn Mariners…

**Bella POV**

Suddenly, it was August.

The summer flew by faster than I would have liked, and I found myself awake one morning only to discover that it was the twenty-first, Edward's last day at the station. I had been visiting him faithfully every time he worked over the past two months. It made my feelings for him even more obvious, but since he knew how I felt about him, why hide it and deny myself these last few weeks of his company?

Alice and Jasper were getting along well. Jasper had proven himself to be a true romantic; he had even sent Alice flowers on the twenty-fourth of July to mark the one month anniversary of their first date. Emmett thought it was hilarious that his friend was so "whipped" as he put it, and had let it slip to me that Jasper was doing to the same thing for her this month. Emmett had accepted their relationship after a few weeks of griping about his "virginal little sister" and a couple of awkward moments when he found the two of them in a passionate embrace on the Hale's living room couch. He now took the stance that at least he knew that Alice was safe, and he could always find Jasper if he needed to knock some sense into him.

Charlie and Renee had been watching me like a science experiment ever since the graduation party. It made me wonder how observant they actually were, and if maybe I had underestimated their perceptiveness.

I arrived at five-thirty, an hour and a half before Edward's normal quitting time of seven o'clock. Originally I planned to arrive at five, but found myself rehearsing what I wanted to say to him. I had to tell Edward exactly how I felt. Even if he already knew, I needed to say goodbye to him knowing that I had let myself be honest with him, especially since it would be the last time we had a chance to talk alone. I didn't see his car in the lot and briefly felt panicked, wondering if he had called in sick or something. Part of me knew that wasn't his style, though, and that he wouldn't do that to me on his last day. We were good enough friends that he would never leave without saying goodbye. I hoped.

I opened the door to the garage slowly, the butterflies in my stomach working their way up to a frenzy. They calmed a bit, though, when he looked up at me from the hood of the ambulance and smiled warmly, as if we both knew what this night meant.

"Hi," he said cheerfully as I walked over to my stool and sat down.

"Hi," I replied. There was an awkward pause, and I suddenly felt the need to fill the gap with small talk, not ready to bear my soul just yet.

"I didn't see your car outside. Is something wrong with it?" I asked.

"Oh, no, it's fine. Tanya has it, actually. She is picking me up after work because we have to be somewhere later," he explained.

"Oh," was all I could say. Tanya was not a topic of conversation I wanted to cover tonight. I sat watching him for a while, and he would look up occasionally and smile at me. If neither of us could think of anything intelligent to discuss, then I was happy to sit and enjoy the time in silence.

"So, junior year starts in a few weeks for you, huh?" he said, obviously wanting to steer the topic of conversation away from his girlfriend.

"Uh-huh. I'm hoping to start some AP courses. I just have to talk to the school counselor first."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Mrs. Cope is really nice, and she helped me get into a good program for senior year to get the credits I needed," he said.

"Thanks, that's good to know," I said. I took a few deep breaths after that, working up the nerve to say what I desperately needed to get off of my chest. This would be my last opportunity, and I wasn't going to miss it.

"Edward, I feel like I need to tell you something," I began, feeling the blush creeping up to my forehead already. He looked up at me and raised his eyebrows, encouraging me to continue. "If I don't say it, I know I'll regret it. If I do say it, then I may regret that, too, but at least I won't wonder what it would have felt like if I had."

"Bella, you don't have to say anything," he said with a serious expression.

"It's okay, Edward. I know you and Tanya have a future planned. This is just something selfish I'm doing for my own sake."

"No, Bella, that's not what I meant." I looked at him strangely. What was he talking about?

"I don't understand," I said. He came over to me then, crouching down so that we were eye-level with each other, and took one of my hands in his.

"I think I know what you want to tell me, but I don't want you to say it because you don't think you'll have another chance. The truth is, I know what you want to say, because I feel the same way. I love you too, Bella."

I was stunned into silence and could only stare at him. How could he have known? Was he serious? What did this mean? How could he say this when he was leaving for college next week? And what about Tanya? So many questions ran through my mind in a matter of a few seconds that my head felt dizzy. I managed to pull it together, and found my voice.

"What…why…?" I managed to choke out. OK, maybe my voice was found, but not my intelligence.

"I've been ignoring my feelings for you ever since that night at the restaurant when I followed you. I knew that it didn't make sense for us to have any kind of a relationship right now beyond friendship. You have no idea how difficult it's been for me over the past few months, especially recently watching Alice and Jasper together and seeing how happy they are."

"But, why didn't you tell me? And what about Tanya?" I asked when my brain and my mouth had become re-acquainted.

"If I had told you, then I don't know if I could have kept things the same between us. Do you think that would have been possible?" he asked, seeming genuinely curious. I thought for a second before shaking my head no, realizing what that would have been like.

"And as for Tanya, well…things are complicated with her. Part of me wonders if the feelings I have for her are just those that develop from being with someone for a long time. I don't feel the same way for her that I used to, but I do love her. You must think I'm an ass for telling you that I love her and I love you," he said, looking ashamed.

I stared at my feet for a moment, trying to process everything he was telling me. I was not prepared for the conversation to take this direction. If he was looking to take advantage of a girl who'd fallen in love with him, he certainly had the opportunity. But he didn't. And if he was looking to make a clean break from that same girl, leaving her behind without any strings, he could have just said nothing except goodbye. But he didn't. No, I didn't think he was an ass, but he continued speaking before I could tell him so.

"I know that I need to sort things out, and I certainly don't want you to be in the crossfire of that. It will be good for me to experience college; allow me to grow into the person I want to be. And hopefully, once I've done that, I might be lucky enough that you still feel something for me. If it's only friendship, then I'll be happy with that.

"Please, tell me what you're thinking," he asked quietly.

"Um, wow. Well, first, you were right. I was determined tonight to finally tell you that I love you," I started. When I looked up I saw him smiling at me and it was at that moment that I knew his feelings for me were genuine as well.

"Also, I know you have to leave, but I'm not sure what you are asking me to do. Are you saying you want me to wait for you?" The questions sounded so old fashioned, but there was really no other way to phrase it. He thought for a moment before answering, and his face became pained, as though the words I had spoken literally hurt him, and he couldn't look me in the eyes when he answered.

"Bella, I would never ask you to do that," he said, then paused before adding, "I know that you need to continue to live your life, just as I need to live mine. But I am only being honest when I say that I would be thrilled if circumstances allowed us to see where things might go at the right time for both of us." He then looked up at me and I nodded my head, indicating that I also would be happy about that. I looked down at our fingers, which were now intertwined, and suddenly Edward pulled away, stood up, and went over to the massive tool chest on the other side of the garage. When he returned, he was blushing even more fiercely than I usually did.

"I'm in no position to make promises to you, other than to promise that you'll be in my thoughts more often than is probably reasonable," he said, smirking, "But I was wondering if I could ask for a promise from you?" I looked at him with surprise at this request, but my curiosity was piqued.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, two things, really. First, promise me that you will be careful, and that you will call me on my cell if you find yourself in any dangerous situations," he said. He waited expectantly for my answer.

"Okay. I think I can do that," I answered.

"And then, this," he said, holding out his hand. In his palm was a beautiful pendant. A small flower, the petals made of a red stone and a crystal for the center. It was small, but shone beautifully in the reflection of the lighting. Had he bought this for me? I usually hated unexpected gifts, but this gesture meant more to me than I could ever explain.

"I saw this," he explained, "and thought of you. The center is pure and brilliant, just like you. And the petals reminded me of the way you blush, which is something I find incredibly endearing. Please don't feel obligated to wear it, but if you just keep it and think of me when you look at it, then I would know a piece of me was with you, always."

The tears began as I stood so that he could clasp the thin chain around my neck. I realized at that moment that this was our goodbye, and pain coursed through my entire being. "Thank you," was all I could manage to choke out as he stepped back. He brought his hand up to cup my face then, and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. I looked deep into his mesmerizing green eyes and forgot for a moment where we were, what day it was, and my name. All that existed was the two of us in that moment and I knew he felt it, too.

My heart began to speed up as I realized that Edward's face was slowly moving closer to mine. My mind raced, knowing that I had dreamt of this moment for so long and here it was. The distance between us became non-existent as I took in the intoxicating scent that was him, and my arms instinctively came up to rest on his waist. He paused just as we were about to make contact, as if looking for a sign of permission. I let my eyelids fall and tilted my head slightly towards his so there would be no doubt in his mind that this was what I wanted as well.

If I lived for an eternity, no other kiss would ever be able to compare to that one blissful moment of kissing Edward on his last day of work. The softness of his lips gently brushing against mine, the way his hand contoured my face, as if he were handling a priceless object that might break if he weren't there to protect it. I had read my share of romance novels in between Stephen King and Dean Koontz thrillers, but none of the heroes of those stories could have possibly expressed the passion, the caring, or the love that Edward conveyed with a kiss that lasted no more than a few moments that day.

I came to the station that night hoping to find the relief of finally telling Edward how I felt. I came away, instead, with more than I had hoped for. And although I had no idea when I would see him again, I knew that part of my heart would always be his.

**Reviews = Love. Send me some! :)**


	11. Chapter 11  It's Complicated

**Okay, so not as long of a wait as last time. Thanks for being patient!**

**As always, I do not own Twilight or it's characters. But I do have an Edward pillowcase that Holly was nice enough to buy me!**

Chapter 11 – It's Complicated

Bella POV

As I stared out of my bedroom window, my pendant fell between each of my fingers as I mindlessly toyed with the gift that had become my favorite plaything and primary source of comfort. I was unable to take it off, and each time I ran my fingers over the tips of the red petals or the small, smooth center, my mind would travel back to the day it was given to me. I found myself feeling more thoughtful than sad, most of the time. Of course, I had shed my fair share of tears over the past two months, but something had kept me from falling into the pit of despair that would have been very willing to swallow me whole; the hope of seeing Edward again.

It was Friday night, and for the past hour I had been preparing for a date with someone who expected to have a fair shot at winning my heart, and part of me felt like a horrible person because I was probably just wasting both of our time. Alice convinced me to go out with him, saying that it would be good therapy for me to get out and have some fun. But my heart couldn't stop wishing that it was Edward who was picking me up soon, not Jacob.

Jacob was quiet and polite, therefore a favorite among the teachers at school, and his rugged good looks and better than average body also made him a favorite among the female population. We were in the same homeroom and English classes together, and soon enough we had become friends. Eventually, that friendship had morphed into a comfortable togetherness, and here I was getting ready to go on our first date.

Jacob picked me up in his old, slightly weather-beaten Camaro and took me to a nice restaurant just outside of Forks. Our conversation came easily, talking about school and assignments mostly, and before I knew it we had finished our desserts and were waiting for the bill.

"So, Bella" Jacob said with a hint of anxiety, "I was wondering if you weren't doing anything next Friday, would you want to go with me to the homecoming dance?"

Ugh - a dance? My enthusiasm would have been greater if he had asked me to go bungee jumping off of the Grand Canyon. Not wanting to turn him down, though, I did the best that I could.

"Um, sure, that sounds fun," I answered sincerely, although I would have to tell Jacob at some point that I didn't actually dance.

"Great," he said as the waitress brought our check, "Thank you," he said to her, not looking away from me and reaching for his wallet at the same time.

"Jake, I don't mind paying for myself" I said, momentarily recalling my infamous date with Mike.

"Don't be silly, Bella. We are on a date," he said, as though this explained everything.

"Well, thank you for dinner," I said, reminding myself that Jacob was not Mike, and I didn't believe for a second that he would feel that he was due anything more than a kiss goodnight. Thinking about that, I briefly wondered if that moment would bring me off of my perch on the fence. Could my reaction to a kiss make me realize that I needed to focus on the present and stop living for the past and a non-guaranteed future? Or would I be convinced that Jacob and I would never be more than friends?

"No problem," he said, smiling with a relaxed look on his face. We walked to the car hand in hand, and Jake even opened my door for me. Once we were on the road he asked me which radio station was my favorite, and he changed the tuner once I told him. I had to admit that I had a great time, and I agreed when he asked if we could work on our English essay together during the week. I found myself wondering at what point we might be considered girlfriend and boyfriend, but decided that I didn't need to worry about that just yet. When we reached my front door I knew it was too late to even consider inviting him in. I had no intention of pushing Charlie's paternal limits. Jake leaned over and gently kissed me on my cheek while resting his hand on my shoulder. It was a nice enough gesture to make me want to jump to his side of the fence.

Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed and reflecting on my date with Jake, Alice texted me.

_HOW'D IT GO? DON'T REPLY IF U R STILL OUT.~A_

I sent back a message telling her to call me, and soon enough we were talking well past midnight. I told her all about dinner, our conversations, and Jacob's request for next Friday, which caused Alice to giggle loudly.

"Bella, did Jacob get you drunk? I can't imagine any other way he could have convinced you to go to a dance," she said.

"No, there were no methods of coercion involved," I explained, "I just had a really nice time with him. It was fun, and he was easy to talk to, you know? I have no intentions of dancing, of course, but I didn't want to say no to him, either."

"That's great. I'm glad you had a good time. I, on the other hand, had a quiet night with the DVD player and my nail polish," she said.

"No Jasper tonight?" I asked.

"No. Emmett was getting jealous, so Jasper decided to take him out tonight instead of me. I have been hogging all of his attention these past few months, so I guess I should learn to share now," she giggled again.

Another two months went by and not much had changed except the weather, which was getting colder as winter threatened to pounce early in Forks. Jacob and I were still dating, and had even doubled a couple of times with Alice and Jasper. It felt awkward at first, knowing that Jasper and Edward were good friends, and part of me wondered if either he or Emmett had told Edward about my relationship, or if Edward had told them about the feelings we had for each other. It was childish, but I wondered how he would feel if he did know.

Since Jacob was Forks High School's quarterback, I found myself going to a lot of high school football games. I had never really taken an interest in them before, but being the star player's girlfriend I wanted to be supportive. Jessica Sullivan, the head cheerleader, obviously felt that the role of quarterback's girlfriend was rightfully hers, and she kept giving me dirty looks every time Jake would wave to me from the field. As annoying as she could be, part of me wondered what Jacob saw in me over her. After all, she was a cheerleader and was very popular. Add to that a beautiful face and an impressive figure, and it seemed like an obvious choice – and I didn't mean me.

The holidays were quickly approaching, and Alice and I had reached another milestone that we celebrated – getting our learner's permits. We took advantage of as many Saturday mornings as we could before the real bad weather started by forcing Charlie out of bed on his day off to teach us to drive. He insisted that, as a policeman, he would be the best instructor for defensive driving and adhering to the rules of the road. We had to agree with him when we considered the alternatives; Renee would be a nervous wreck sitting in the passenger seat, and since Alice's parents worked most of the weekend, that would have left Emmett, who refused to get out of bed any earlier than noon on the weekends.

"Small wheel adjustments, Bells," Charlie instructed as I navigated down one of Forks' least used roads, "You make smaller wheel adjustments and you won't be all over the road." Okay, I thought, but if I'm all over the road already, don't my wheel adjustments have to be bigger? I would have to work on that one.

Alice and I had pretty much mastered parking, signals, and smaller wheel adjustments by Thanksgiving, and we were discussing our accomplishments the night before the holiday at her house while helping her mother make pies for the next day's feast. Alice was busy making crust while I peeled apples and navigated the ipod on the counter to facilitate decent music to cook by, when their phone rang.

"Bella, I think Emmett's in the shower and I've got flour all over my hands. Can you grab that?" Alice asked.

"Sure," I replied as I wiped my hands on a towel. I noticed the caller ID just as I hit the 'Talk' button, which only read Unknown Caller.

"Hello?" I said. A short pause made me wonder if this was one of those telemarketers, but finally the caller spoke.

"Um, hello. Who is this?" the caller asked. My breath caught in my throat as I recognized the voice immediately. I just barely managed to speak as my heart rate increased to the speed of a hummingbird's wings.

"It's Bella," I responded. I knew that no further clarification was necessary. After all, how many girls named Bella did Edward know?

"Wow, I wasn't expecting to hear your voice. How are you?" he asked. So many thoughts passed through my mind. Was he happy to hear my voice or not? _Stop overanalyzing and answer the question_, I told myself.

"I'm good. How are you?" I asked, feeling a little dizzy from the shock.

"Great, thanks," he said, "I've thought about you a lot, and really missed talking to you."

"I've missed that, too. How's college?" I asked. By this time Alice was curious as to who had called, and when she mouthed '_Edward?_' I nodded my head and she smiled and bounced up and down a couple of times to show her excitement.

"Well, it's tougher than I thought it would be. It's a lot different than high school, that's for sure, but I'm enjoying it, too." He paused for a moment, then added,

"Look, I'm supposed to meet Emmett to go out in a little while, in fact I was just calling to let him know I was home, but I was wondering if you're not busy at the moment if I could pick you up and we could just go for a drive or something? I mean, I don't want to interrupt you or anything, so if you're busy with Alice…"

"No, that would be fine," I interjected without giving it another thought. I knew Alice would be more disappointed if I had said no to Edward's invitation.

"Okay, great. Then I should be there in about ten minutes," he said happily.

"Okay, see you then," I said before hanging up. I stood there for a moment and thought about seeing Edward, and must not have moved in a couple of minutes because the next thing I knew Alice was standing next to me asking me if I was alright.

"That was Edward on the phone," I said to her.

"Yes, I gathered that by the half of the conversation I could hear," she said with a laugh, "so what did he say?"

"He's coming here to pick me up so we can go for a drive," I answered.

"Really? Where? Did he know you were here before he called?" she asked.

"No. He sounded pretty surprised when I answered the phone, actually. I guess he has plans with Emmett later, so I can't imagine we'll be gone long," I said as I realized it was probably a true statement.

"Okay, then let's get upstairs and fix your hair and make you smell less like an apple orchard," she said with a smile.

We came back downstairs a few minutes later, and after only waiting another two minutes there were headlights pulling into the Hale's driveway. I saw a figure moving past the windows, and after a quick knock at the kitchen door, in walked the only boy who could take my breath away simply by existing.

"Hi," he said with a smile after spotting me near the stove where I stood.

"Hi," was the only response I could manage. My memory had not done him justice, because his green eyes were even more piercing than I remembered, and his bronze hair was tousled in just the right places. His casual leather jacket was unzipped to reveal a tan Henley shirt, which looked amazing on him. More than anything I wanted to run into his arms and never let him go, but I controlled myself as he said hello to Alice and asked where Emmett was.

"He's in the family room, watching the game," she replied.

"Okay, thanks," he said to her, and then to me, "I'll be right back," and he walked into the other room. I could hear him and Emmett greeting each other and then some conversation that was kept at a low volume. He came out a minute later with his car keys in hand.

"Ready to go?" he asked me.

"Sure," I said as I donned my jacket and followed him outside to his car. We got into his Volvo and pulled out of the driveway before either of us spoke, and I was suddenly nervous that perhaps the purpose of this little road trip was so that he could tell me that he had time to reconsider his feelings since he'd been away, and that all bets for us were off. Just as those thoughts began to get the better of me, though, he spoke.

"So, it's been a while since I've seen you; about three months, actually. What have I missed?" he asked lightly.

"Well," I began, "Charlie has been teaching me and Alice how to drive. We both passed our permit tests on the same day, which Renee has deemed 'the beginning of the end,' as she put it. I took your advice and talked to Mrs. Cope about AP classes, which are going pretty well. And I'm still working at the station a few days a week, but to be honest I don't enjoy it as much as I used to." I was curious if he would respond to my last comment or not.

"And how are things with Jacob?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road. I looked at him for a moment, surprised that he asked about Jake. I had wondered many times if he knew I was dating, and it was probably foolish to think that he didn't know, since he and Jasper and Emmett were close, but it still surprised me that he had been keeping tabs on me.

"Pretty good. Jacob is…nice," I said hesitantly, wondering where the conversation was headed. Just then Edward pulled off the road into a parking lot for the boat landing. The area was pretty much deserted at this time of year, so we had plenty of privacy and could look out over the dark waves in the peninsula. Edward shut off the engine but left the radio on, then turned in his seat to face me more directly. The lights from the dashboard were just enough for me to see him clearly, which I was grateful for.

"Bella, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable asking about your relationship with him. I just wanted to know if you were happy or not," he explained, "and since you hadn't called, I figured I would just have to ask."

"It's okay, Edward. I've asked you about Tanya before, so I don't mind," I said, turning in my seat as well, "And I haven't found myself in any dangerous situations, so I haven't really had an excuse to call, either." I wanted to steer the conversation away from the Tanya area, because she was the last subject I wanted to approach.

"I feel conflicted," he said, shaking his head, "I want to tell you that you don't need a reason to call, but I know that if we started talking on the phone to each other when we wanted that it would only make things more complicated, not easier."

"I know, you're right," I said, thinking of how strange it would be to be studying with Jake some day after school and have Edward call, or calling him when he was at his apartment with Tanya. No, that wouldn't work out well at all.

"Do you think it would be okay if I texted you once in a while? Just to check in?" he asked. My heart soared and I felt myself blushing as I nodded my head and answered, "Yes."

A small smile appeared on his face and I couldn't help but notice that he was staring intently at my chest. I felt uncomfortable for a brief moment until I realized that it wasn't really my chest that he was staring at, but my neck. The v-neck sweater I was wearing showcased the pendent he had given me, the same one I had not taken off since the day he put it around my neck.

"I'm glad you like that," he said as my hand instinctively came up to my throat.

"I really do," I confirmed. Edward reached over then and took my hand in his, causing those familiar sparks to be rekindled, and he rubbed small circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. His eyes found mine again and I found myself getting lost in his gaze. Neither of us spoke for about a minute, and then he shifted in his seat and put his arm around me and pulled me over to him. We sat together looking out at the water, Edward's arm around me and my head on his shoulder, and occasionally his lips would form a kiss on the top of my head where his cheek had been resting.

There was so much I wanted to talk with him about, so many things I would have liked his opinion on, but those would all have to wait. Knowing that I only had him to myself for a very short and precious amount of time, I wanted to just enjoy the quiet sound of his breathing and the feeling of his arms around me. A buzzing sound coming from Edward's jacket pocket was like an alarm clock, ripping me from a wonderful dream.

"Emmett is getting anxious," Edward commented as he read the text from his friend, "I guess it's time to head back."

"Okay," I said as I started to sit back into the passenger side. Edward's hand cupped the side of my cheek, causing me to look up and notice that his face was only centimeters from my own. He had a pained expression on his face, possibly mirroring the one I wore on my own.

"I knew it would be hard to say goodbye tonight, but I also knew the happiness from seeing you would outweigh it," he almost whispered.

"I was worried that you'd changed your mind about me," I admitted softly.

"Never doubt what I said to you, Bella. Every word was absolutely true," he replied, looking deep into my eyes. Then he leaned in and brushed his lips against mine gently, as if still unsure of what was going to be acceptable to me. I responded by pressing my lips to his firmly, deepening the kiss and letting him know that my feelings had not waivered a bit, either.

We both seemed to need air at the same time, and sat for a moment with our foreheads touching and breathing heavily. Slowly we both put our seatbelts on and we drove back to Alice's house, my left hand entwined in his right.

Emmett was waiting impatiently in the driveway when we pulled in, and we both laughed at how childlike he looked with his arms folded, pouting as he paced back and forth.

"I'll text you soon," Edward said in a serious tone before I got out of the car to go face Alice's inquisition.

"I'd like that," I said.

"Be safe, Bella," he reminded me with a wink.

**So, some of my readers were not too happy with Edward confessing his feelings for Bella (or kissing her) when he has Tanya - but can you sympathize with Bella, or is she just as guilty now that she is dating Jake? Please review and let me know your thoughts!**

**REVIEWS = LOVE. GIMME! ;)**


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